Police and emergency personnel stand near the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, on August 2, 2023, after an unconfirmed report of an active shooter in the building near the US Capitol.
Saul Loeb AFP | Getty Images
The Capitol reopened a Senate office building Wednesday after sweeping the area and finding “no suspicious activity or persons of interest,” the House Sergeant at Arms said in a statement.
The order came after the Metropolitan Police Department told CNBC that a report of an active shooter in a Senate office building “appeared to be a bad call.”
US Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger at a press conference on Wednesday seemed to agree. “It could have been a bogus call,” he said.
US Capitol Police issued a shelter-in-place order just before 3pm for people inside the Senate office buildings as its officers responded to a report of a possible active shooter.
The USCP tweeted that its officers were searching in and around those buildings “in response to a 911 call.” The department noted at the time that it could not confirm reports of gunshots.
US Senate staff are evacuated under police supervision after an unconfirmed report of an active shooter prompted a lockdown of the office buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, August 2, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
NBC News reported people evacuated from the Russell Senate Office Building, one of three Senate buildings along Constitution Avenue, around 3 p.m.
The USCP’s shelter-in-place order was still active, Manger said around 4 p.m., though people inside buildings were allowed to leave if asked to leave.
“We’ve found nothing concerning” so far, he said.
The original call to MPD about the active shooter had police on the lookout for a “heavyset Hispanic male wearing body armor,” Manger said. The caller said the active shooter situation was in the Hart Senate Office Building.
But no one has reported seeing anything, according to the police chief, and the number from the original caller “just bounces.”
People walk out of the Russell Senate Office Building with their hands raised in Washington, DC, on August 2, 2023, after an unconfirmed report of an active shooter in the building near the US Capitol.
Saul Loeb AFP | Getty Images
The USCP tweeted at 4:04 pm: “All buildings have been cleared at this time. The buildings have not been reopened.”
MPD says it is assisting the Capitol Police.
Both the House and Senate are in recess until September.