Hundreds of passengers had their morning Metro commutes interrupted and delayed Wednesday -- all because of a blinking Christmas ornament.
Someone spotted the ever-popular "suspicious package" in a trash can at the Pentagon Metro station at about 7:15 a.m. What made this different than all of the other suspicious packages checked out in the area? This one had blinking lights.
"Someone spotted some lights that were was blinking in a trash can," Chris Layman, spokesman for the Pentagon police force, told the AP. "We took it seriously, it was called a 'suspicious object' and they came and X-rayed and inspected the item."
Trains were not allowed to stop at the station while the object was checked out. That meant passengers had to get off at a different station and wait for a shuttle bus or walk -- in 20-degree weather.
An "all clear" was given at about 8:50 a.m. That's when Pentagon Police said the object turned out to be a battery-operated Christmas ornament.
