Aug. 2 (UPI) — U.S. Capitol Police reopened Senate office buildings in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday after finding no active shooter despite a 911 report, which officers said “may have been a bogus call.”
“A call came in for an active shooter. It appears to be a bad call. No injuries and no shooter were located. MPD is assisting U.S. Capitol Police,” a spokesperson for D.C. Metro police said in an email to The Hill.
The original call to Metropolitan Police Department came in at 2:30 p.m. The caller claimed the active shooter, who was described as a “heavyset Hispanic male wearing body armor,” was inside Hart Senate Office Building, which houses Senate offices and staff. Both the Senate and House of Representatives are currently on summer recess.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told reporters that when officers tried returning the caller’s number, it “just bounces back.”
“This may have been a bogus call,” Manger said.
As officers investigated the call, Senate staff members and visitors were told to shelter in place shortly before 3 p.m.
“If you are inside the Senate Buildings, everyone inside should be sheltering in place as the report was for a possible active shooter,” MPD wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “It should be noted that we do not have any confirmed reports of gunshots.”
Officers, who focused their efforts on the Russell Senate Office building, also blocked access to the underground tunnels leading to the Senate office buildings from the Capitol.
“Please stay away from the area as we are still investigating,” U.S. Capitol Police wrote on X.
Manger told reporters, “Close to 200 police officers are going floor to floor through all three Senate office buildings.”
Following an extensive search, officers evacuated the buildings. Some staffers and visitors exited in tears or with their hands raised in the air.
“We’ve had the advantage of having trained for this over the last couple of years, and we had a very quick response,” Manger said. “So far we found nothing concerning. We’ve got nobody that actually heard shots and certainly no victims.”
