By Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Police gave an all-clear at the U.S. Capitol complex on Wednesday, finding no gunman or suspicious activities after a report of a possible active shooter that was most likely “bogus,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told reporters.
After about 90 minutes of investigating, police allowed workers in three Senate office buildings adjacent to the U.S. Capitol to return to work.
“I think at this point we can say we’ve found no confirmation of an active shooter and this may have been a bogus call,” Manger said.
About 200 officers were mobilized to clear the three Senate office buildings on Constitution Avenue. Manger said there were no indications that anyone suspicious was spotted nearby.
Manger said Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department received a call reporting a shooter and tried to contact the initial caller without success.
After the call, police urged people inside Senate office buildings to shelter in place.
The Senate was in summer recess, and most lawmakers were not in Washington. However, congressional offices retain reduced staffs on site. There also typically are dozens of workers staffing Senate cafeterias, coffee shops and security posts, and performing building maintenance, as well as tourists in the Capitol.
Police received the call one day before former President Donald Trump is expected to appear in a federal courthouse just blocks from the Capitol.
On Tuesday Trump was indicted over attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.
Security around government buildings at the courthouse and surrounding areas was being beefed up in anticipation of Trump’s arrival.
“We’re prepared for tomorrow. We’ve been working with our partner agencies… in preparation for whenever the indictment did happen,” Manger said.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton, Patricia Zengerle, Kanishka Singh and Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone and Doina Chiacu)
