US Capitol Police headquarters evacuated due to suspicious vehicle

[September 20, 2023]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Capitol Police headquarters was evacuated and surrounding streets closed off for more than two hours on Tuesday after a report of a suspicious vehicle nearby.  

Capitol Police ordered the building evacuated shortly after 12:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) and directed staff and other personnel to avoid the area, near the U.S. Senate office buildings across the street from the Capitol grounds.

Capitol Police said a police dog had indicated interest in the vehicle, which was on the same block as the headquarters.

Streets and three parking lots around the building were closed for more than two hours while police investigated.

The area has periodic security scares, including in August 2022 when a 29-year-old Delaware man died in an apparent suicide after crashing his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol and firing shots into the air. In April 2021, a vehicle attack at the Capitol killed one Capitol Police officer and injured another.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Timothy Gardner)

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