By Richard Cowan and Margaret Chadbourn

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - A dramatic car chase through the streets of Washington from near the White House to the U.S. Capitol ended in gunfire on Thursday when law enforcement officers shot and killed the driver as lawmakers and aides huddled in a lockdown.

The incident rattled Washington less than three weeks after a government contractor opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the Capitol, killing 12 people and wounding three others before he was shot to death by police.

The car involved in the chase was registered to Miriam Carey, 34, of Connecticut, and law enforcement officials believe she was the driver, the Washington Post reported, citing officials. NBC News also identified the driver as Carey.

Reached by phone at Washington's Metropolitan Police headquarters, a police officer confirmed that Carey was the driver, but declined to provide his name.

"The suspect in the vehicle was struck by gunfire," Washington's police chief, Cathy Lanier, told reporters.

Driving a black car, the woman rammed security barricades "at the very outer perimeter of the White House," U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said. Then the car, carrying a 1-year-old girl, raced up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol where Congress was in session.

Police chased and fired at the car. It came to a halt near the Capitol building, said Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine.

"My understanding is there was a 1-year-old child in the car," Dine said. "I believe one of our officers rescued the child," who was taken to a hospital.

It appeared there was no connection to terrorism, Dine said of the incident.

Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, told CNN that officials believed the woman driving the car may have had mental health problems.

"I got that from multiple sources - that they think she may have had some mental health issues," he said. "Obviously the way she responded at the gate near the White House and then turning around and hitting Secret Service."

The woman was a resident of Connecticut and the girl in the car was her daughter, McCaul said.

Hours after the woman's fatal encounter with officers, the FBI and other agencies were conducting a search of the sprawling condo complex in Stamford, Connecticut, where neighbors say she lived. Dozens of neighbors were forced to wait outside.

They drank coffee and some talked on cell phones trying to arrange to stay with friends and relatives.

"When we got home late this afternoon, there were three helicopters flying above, there were Haz-Mat (hazardous materials) trucks and bomb-squad trucks coming in, and police were telling people to get out of their condos," said Krysta Valentine, 29, a resident of the area who said she had seen Carey at times.