A man with a weapon assaulted a receptionist inside an Iranian diplomatic building in Northwest D.C. on Wednesday morning, sparking street closures and lockdowns in nearby office buildings.
The scare started when a man wearing a hat walked into the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the 1200 block of 23rd Street NW, blocks southwest of Dupont Circle.
"He took his gun out of his pocket and hit the [receptionist] in the forehead with the bottom of his gun," the head of legal affairs for the office, Fariborz Jahansoozan, told News4.
Iran's Interests Section is housed within Pakistan's embassy, because Iran and the U.S. severed diplomatic relations in 1979.
Police closed streets after receiving an emergency call about 11 a.m. The caller reported shots fired by an intruder armed with a gun and a knife. It turned out there were no shots fired and the gun was not real.
But the intruder used the weapon to force the injured receptionist to take him to the second floor.
"Turned the gun to the people and trying to threaten people, and people ran inside the office and hide in the bathroom," Jahansoozan said.
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A D.C. ambulance rushed the receptionist to a hospital, trailed by a Secret Service patrol car.
The intruder was arrested for assault and taken to a D.C. police station. Authorities have not released his name.
The man's parked car was searched for weapons or explosives. None were found.
People who work in buildings on the block were ordered to stay in their offices during the incident and the investigation that followed.
"We looked out and saw a bunch of police and Secret Service on the streets," said Elizabeth Williams, who works in an office nearby. "Unclear what was happening. Our fourth floor was shut, on lockdown."
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency posted a brief video online that appears to show armed officers subduing a man facedown on the ground. The agency says the man shouted "slogans against the Islamic Republic of Iran," without elaborating.
The receptionist was being treated Wednesday night for injuries.
