Photo by FlipMode79.

This morning, police investigated and then detonated a suspicious package near a parking lot north of the Pentagon which has brought traffic to a halt around Arlington. An individual has been taken into custody in connection with the package.

“This is an unfolding situation,” said James McJunkin, assistant director of the FBI. “We’ve closed all the areas around Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon that we feel need to be closed.”

Early Friday, authorities discovered a man wandering in Arlington National Cemetery while the cemetery was closed; the man appeared suspicious, and after being questioned, authorities searched the individual’s vehicle, which was found on Washington Boulevard, and made the discovery which led them to call in the Arlington bomb squad. Authorities are currently investigating whether or not the individual left other suspicious packages at Arlington and the Iwo Jima Memorial. The package found inside the vehicle was “rendered safe” earlier this morning.

There are reports floating around that the individual is an Ethiopian man who may have been in possession of Al Qaeda documents, though that has not been confirmed at this point. It is also unclear whether the man has been charged with any crime. Authorities say they are searching for “one or two” other people who may be involved.

Logistically, things are a lot clearer: the morning commute is a complete mess.

“Traffic in the Pentagon area is pretty messed up,” said Park Police spokesperson Sgt. David Schlosser at a press briefing held a short time ago. That’s kind of a major understatement — we’ve heard people say that Interstate 395 is at a “dead stop” and several other major arteries into the city, like Washington Boulevard, have been closed. Metrorail service at the Pentagon station has not been affected by the investigation, but Metrobuses are being rerouted to Pentagon City, where WMATA is telling riders to take rail to the Pentagon. Arlington Regional Transit buses are also being diverted to Pentagon City.