WASHINGTON (Xinhua) -- A man driving his car crashed into a vehicle barrier on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., early Sunday morning and fired shots before committing suicide.

The accident occurred at East Capitol Street and Second Street around 4:00 a.m. (0800 GMT), according to a press release from the Capitol Police.

The Capitol Police statement said the car "on fire" as the man was getting out. He then "fired several shots in the air" along East Capitol Street.

"When our officers heard the gunfire, they immediately responded and approached the man when he shot himself," the statement read.

Police said no one else was hurt in the incident, and the man did not appear to have been aiming at any of the congressmen - who are currently on recess - and the officers did not appear to have fired their weapons.

Detectives are looking into the man's background, while the death investigation is being handled by the Metropolitan Police Department.