FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

News

West Wing and Capitol Hill Buildings Evacuated Amid Bomb Scare

The two events occurred within several hours of each other, and authorities have not yet determined whether they are related.
Photo by Shawn Thew/EPA

The entire West Wing of the White House was briefly evacuated Tuesday on the same afternoon that senators in Washington were filed out of their Capitol Hill offices over a bomb scare.

The two events occurred within several hours of each other, and authorities have not yet determined whether they are related. Authorities found no hazardous material after they investigated reports of suspicious packages in two US Senate office buildings, Capitol Hill police said Tuesday.

Part of the Dirksen building near the Capitol was evacuated after a phoned in bomb threat, Capitol Police spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider said. The courtyard of the Russell building was also cleared after a lunchbox cooler was found unattended, she added.

Authorities said the West Wing was evacuated after a bomb threat was called in at 1:53 pm, a Secret Service official said, according to ABC News. The Wing was cleared at 2:30pm, but reporters have since been allowed back into the press briefing room after security had issued an all-clear, the Associated Press reported.

US Secret Service agents interrupted the White House briefing on Tuesday afternoon, June 8, and evacuated the room after a bomb threat was phoned in to US Capitol Police.