WASHINGTON — A policeman has died after a driver rammed his vehicle into officers at a security barricade outside the US Capitol.

The incident took place at about 1 pm local time. The car reportedly crashed into a barrier on Capitol Hill in Washington, injuring two police officers.

The driver left the car carrying a knife and was shot by officers at the scene. Both the suspect and the two police officers were then taken to hospital.

At a press conference this afternoon, Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman confirmed that one of the officers and the suspect had died.

"It's with a heavy heart that I announce one of our officers has succumbed to his injuries," she said. The other officer is understood to be in a serious condition.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered the flags at the US Capitol to be flown at half-staff due to the death of a Capitol Police officer in today's attack near the building, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff tweeted.

Robert J. Contee III, acting Chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said the attacker was not known to police and the incident was not thought to be terrorism-related.

"It does not appear to be terrorism-related. But obviously, we'll continue to investigate to see if there is some type of nexus along those lines," he said at a news conference on Friday.

It comes nearly three months after the January 6 storming of the US Capitol building by supporters of Donald Trump, as Congress was voting to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.

The riot at the Capitol led to the deaths of four protesters and one police officer. — Agencies