A suspicious package found near the headquarters for the U.S. Secret Service in downtown D.C. led to evacuations and road closures for two hours on Thursday afternoon.
The package was found near the Secret Service building in the 900 block of H Street NW when a Secret Service K9 had a hit on a car nearby around 3:35 p.m, a Secret Service spokesperson said.
The Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department closed several blocks to the public, and a bomb squad was called to the scene to investigate.
These streets were closed to drivers and pedestrians until further notice:
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- G Street NW, between 7th Street and 10th Street NW, in the 700 to 900 blocks,
- H Street NW, between 7thn Street and 10th Street NW, in the 700 to 900 blocks,
- 9th Street NW, between H Street and G Street NW, in the 700 block, and
- 10th Street NW, between H Street and G Street NW, in the 800 block.
Several buildings were also evacuated, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.
"The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is currently under evacuation due to Secret Service activity in the area," DC Public Library said in a Tweet. "We will update on here when we can safely return to the building."
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Two hours later, after the investigation was completed, the area was declared safe.
"The MPD Explosive Ordinance Division responded and declared the scene as "Safe," the Secret Service spokesperson said around 5:20 p.m. on Thursday. "All road closures have been lifted."
It was not immediately clear what was in the package in the car, or why the K9 alerted.
Stay with News4 for updates on this story.
