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A man drove his car into a barricade near the US Capitol early Sunday and then began firing gunshots in the air before fatally shooting himself, according to police, who said he did not seem to be targeting any member of Congress, Associated Press Reported.

The incident happened just before 4 a.m. at a vehicle barricade set at East Capitol Street NE and 2nd Street SE in Washington.

It comes at a time when law enforcement authorities across the country are facing an increasing number of threats and federal officials have warned about the potential of violent attacks on government buildings in the days since the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estatein Florida.

The attack is reminiscent of an incident when a man drove a vehicle into two Capitol Police officers at a checkpoint in April 2021, killing an 18-year veteran of the force. And many on Capitol Hill remain on edge after supporters of the then-president stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Authorities said the man, identified as Richard A. York III, 29, of Delaware, crashed into the barricade and that as he was getting out of the car, the vehicle became engulfed in flames. The man then opened fire, firing several shots into the air as police approached.

Capitol Police said the man shot himself as the officers neared. He was later pronounced dead.

Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said officers did not hear the man say anything before he opened fire “indiscriminately” in the street with a handgun and walked toward the Capitol building. Authorities are investigating whether the man may have set his car on fire, the chief said, because the collision did not appear to cause the blaze, according to Associated Press.

Police officers at the scene saw the man fatally shoot himself as they approached, Manger said. 

The chief said investigators located addresses for the man in Delaware and Pennsylvania and learned he had a criminal history in the past decade, though his motive remained unclear and he had no links to the Capitol.,

“We don’t have any information that would indicate his motivation at this point,” Manger said.

Police said “it does not appear the man was targeting any member of Congress” and that investigators are examining the man’s background as they work to try to discern a motive. Both the House and Senate are in recess and very few staff members work in the Capitol complex at that hour.

Authorities said no other injuries were reported and police do not believe any officers returned fire, Associated Press reported.

Dozens of people have died after a fire broke out at a church in Egypt, many of them crushed during a desperate scramble to escape, BBC reported.

Officials say the number of dead is at least 41, with dozens injured. Children are believed to be among the dead.

An electrical fire broke out as 5,000 worshippers gathered for Mass at the Coptic Abu Sifin church in Giza, security sources told Reuters.

The fire blocked an entrance, causing a stampede, they said.

Citing hospital records, CNN reported that some 18 children, aged between 3 to 16 years old, were killed.

Fire services said the exact cause of the fire remains unclear. However, Father Farid Fahmy, from another nearby church in the Imbaba neighbourhood, told the AFP news agency that it was sparked by a short circuit.

"The power was out and they were using a generator," he said. "When the power came back, it caused an overload."

Worshippers have been explaining their moments since the blaze ignited, according to BBC.

"People were gathering on the third and fourth floor, and we saw smoke coming from the second floor. People rushed to go down the stairs and started falling on top of each other," Yasir Munir told Reuters.

"Then we heard a bang and sparks and fire coming out of the window," he said, adding that he and his daughter were on the ground floor and able to escape.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offered his "sincere condolences to the families of the innocent victims that have passed on to be with their Lord in one of his houses of worship".

He has ordered the armed forces to rebuild the church.

The prosecutor's office said it had sent a team to the scene to investigate the cause of the blaze.

Giza lies just across the Nile from Cairo and is part of the Greater Cairo metropolis.

Coptic Christians make up at least 10 million of Egypt's 103 million people, BBC reported.

Copts claims they face discrimination and play a lesser part in Egyptian public life than their numbers justify.

Nepal recorded 455 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Sunday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 308 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 305 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 521 people underwent antigen tests, of which 150 tested positive.

As of today, there are 5, 435 active cases in the country.

Locals vandalized and set fire to under construction Sanjen Hydropower Project in Rasuwa on Sunday.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the IPO to be issued for the locals, the people of Gatlang vandalized and set fire to the project.

According to the information provided by the project, the locals vandalized the side office and vehicles among others and set them on fire.

A group of 70-80 people of Gatlang vandalized the office demanding that they be included in the list of the most affected while distributing the share.

They also attacked the staffers of the project.

It has been learnt that property worth millions were destroyed in the attack.