U.S. Rep Joe Pitts was on his way to Capitol Hill Tuesday morning when he saw a huge plume of smoke spreading out over the George Washington Parkway above the Pentagon.

Pitts, who represents most of Lancaster County, said he didn’t know what was wrong until he got to the Capitol Building.

When he learned that a hijacked plane had crashed into the nation’s military headquarters, he experienced a mix of emotions.

“First I was shocked and stunned, then I was outraged and very sad,” a shaken Pitts said from his Arlington, Va. Home Tuesday afternoon. “I told my staff that anyone who wanted to go home could.”

Pitts, during a breakfast meeting in Arlington prior to his trip to the Capitol, had learned about the devastating strikes on the World Trade Center towers.

“Our serving lady rushed in and told us about the attack on the twin towers,” Pitts said. “Ironically, I had been talking with a representative of Sudan about the importance of dialogue when this happened. The news sort of put an exclamation point on our discussion.”

After reaching his office in Washington, the Kennett Square Republican said he phoned his family and his district offices in Pennsylvania to let everyone know he was fine. “I was on the phone with my son in Tennessee when I saw the first World Trade Center tower fall,” he said.

When the dust settles and the dead and wounded are removed from the rubble, U.S. leaders will face an urgent political issue, Pitts said.

“You will see, I think, a tremendous amount of bipartisan support to get behind the president and bring those responsible to justice,” he said. “This was a very sophisticated, well-coordinated attack on strategic American targets. We must respond.” .

Pitts said the attacks are tantamount to an act of war.

“If this is a large terrorist group being harbored by a country, it most certainly is,” he said. “This cowardly act must be avenged. We must track down those who sponsored these killers and capture them.”

Congressman George W. Gekas said he was in a Judiciary Committee meeting when aides began whispering to lawmakers about the assaults on the World Trade Center.

After word spread of the second assault on the World Trade Center, Gekas said he sent his staff home.

“At that point we knew it wasn’t just an accident,” Gekas said. “It was about 15 minutes later when the plane hit the Pentagon. Then word went out that the Capitol building was being evacuated.”

Gekas, a Harrisburg Republican who represents the northwestern part of Lancaster County, said U.S. House members returned to Capitol Hill Tuesday evening and held a press conference in a “show of unity.”

“Most of us wanted to show the American people that when danger is near, we will not fly the coop,” he said. “Rather, we will dig in.”

During the day, members of Congress met at a makeshift command post in Arlington to discuss the tragedies and plan for today’s 10 a.m. session, Gekas said. “The agenda will be almost exclusively devoted to the events of today,” Gekas said Tuesday. “There will undoubtedly be resolutions condemning these acts as well as suitable debate about what to do.”

There was a strong sense of vengeance among House members, Gekas said.

“I believe that most of us feel that whatever the commander-in-chief would judge an appropriate action, we would support,” he said.