Gunman captured after shooting at US Capitol complex White House briefly put on lockdown after reports of gunshots in the Capitol Visitors Center.

The shooting occurred in the Visitors Center of the sprawling Capitol complex [Reuters ]

A police officer was shot and wounded on Monday in the US Capitol complex in Washington and the gunman was taken into custody, officials and police said.

The shooting occurred in the Visitors Center of the sprawling Capitol Complex. The White House was briefly put on lockdown, but that was soon lifted.

The police officer who was shot was not believed to be seriously wounded, the Associated Press reported.

Al Jazeera's Shihab Rattansi, reporting from Washington DC, said: "The gunman has been taken into custody".

Staffers, reporters and others were told to "shelter in place" and not allowed to leave their offices.

Visitors were being turned away from the Capitol as emergency vehicles flooded the street and the plaza on the building's eastern side. 

Police, some carrying long guns, cordoned off the streets immediately around the building.

Traffic was jammed in the vicinity, but despite the obvious emergency the scene was relatively calm.

A work crew on the north side of the Supreme Court, across the street, was asked to stop work and move away from the building as a precaution.