Suspended lock on US Capitol building after brief security scare

Suspended lock on US Capitol building after brief security scare

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The incident involved a tent near the Capitol building, said DC Fire and EMS spokesman Vito Maggiolo. The fire was in block 100 of H St SE, authorities said, and was reported extinct at around 10:30 am ET. One person sustained a non-life-threatening injury, city officials said, but the United States Secret Service said there was “no threat to the public”.

When the fire was verified, the US Capitol Police, citing an “external security threat”, advised lawmakers and officials to take shelter there. Capitol Police instructed the complex to “return to normal operations” shortly after 11:30 am

The response highlights the immense sense of alert in Washington, DC, this week. That is less than two weeks after the deadly siege of the Capitol left five dead and two days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who transformed the city center into an armed police zone.

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There are currently hundreds of National Guard troops on the eastern front of the Capitol. Another alert at one point urged people to stay inside the house, not to go out and to stay away from windows and doors.

Capitol officials evacuated the building’s west facade as well as the first floor crypt.

“I tried to leave (the Longworth House Office Building) after doing my Covid test, only to be informed that the building is now blocked. Apparently, some external threat. Propane tanks under some bridge. The congressman told CNN soon after the incident is reported.

This story has been updated with further developments.

CNN’s Manu Raju, Ted Barrett, Abby Phillip, Ali Main and Clare Foran contributed to this report.

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