Results tagged “suspiciouspackage”

Two different suspicious package investigations shut down several downtown streets and the Foggy Bottom Metro station today. The first, inside a bank in the 800 block of Pennsylvania Ave., was called in just after 11 a.m. and forced the partial closure of 9th, Pennsylvania and D Street in the area. That package has already been cleared. The second incident is an unclaimed suitcase in the Foggy Bottom Metro station, and police have since shut down the station itself, along with 23rd Street from G to I Streets and I Street from 21-23rd Streets NW. The Metro station remained closed as of about 3 p.m. UPDATE 3:56 p.m.: Foggy Bottom Metro and all related streets have been reopened.

A suspicious package investigation at Connecticut Ave. and DeSales Street NW has shut down several blocks of Connecticut Ave. Emergency units are on the scene and have shut down Connecticut from L to M Streets. We also hear traffic is backed up on L Street while drivers attempt to get around the closure.

WMATA sent out an alert just before 8:30 a.m. that a suspicious package investigation at Farragut West had closed the 18th & I Street station entrance, and we've since heard that the surface streets surrounding the area were also closed, leading to an impressively bad traffic jam. Metro gave the all-clear at 9:23 a.m., but not before many a commuter was stuck in a mess at the height of the morning rush. The area should be getting back to normal by now. UPDATE: The Post is now reporting that the suspicious package in question turned out to be an empty can inside a garbage bin. But what kind of a can? A soda can? A can of beans? Coffee can? CAN-bus?

D.C. police have shut down the 500 block of North Capitol Street NW and part of southbound Massachusetts Ave. near Union Station as they investigate a report of a suspicious package. Avoid the area if at all possible on your commute home this evening.

Another suspicious package scare shut down Lafayette Park for about 45 minutes this afternoon. The call came in just before 3:45 p.m., and the package was cleared by 4:30, the AP via WTOP reports. The culprit? A tourist left a backpack in front of the White House gate.

A suspicious package report at just a little after 10 a.m. this morning shut down I Street NW between 19th Street and Pennsylvania Ave, as well as parts of the surrounding area. The package was reported found in the rear of 2001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, a large office building that from the street appears to be located on I Street, despite its street address. DCist reader Ryan sent in this view of the scene from his office window.

Fire crews have been called to respond to a suspicious package at Allison and 8th Streets NW in Petworth, a relatively unusual spot for such an incident.

We're hearing that a HazMat crew has been called in to respond to a suspicious package at 3rd Street and Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Fire department vehicles are also on the scene. Will update when we know more. UPDATE 5:38 p.m.: The Associated Press is now reporting that streets in the area reopened earlier this afternoon. The "suspicious package" was apparently a lighting component that fell from a lamppost. Pennsylvania Avenue between 1st and 3rd Streets NW, and 1st Street between Independence and Constitution Avenues were closed from about noon until after 1 p.m.

A maintenance worker found a grenade near the Carter Barron Amphitheater in Rock Creek Park early this morning. There's some confusion over whether the grenade is "live" or not -- the Post quotes a U.S. Park Police spokesperson as saying the grenade is genuine and not a toy, while WTOP has a source saying the grenade is live. An Army bomb squad is on the scene to deal with the device.

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Via a reader tip, Fox 5 reports that Greenpeace has taken responsibility for the polar bears that have been mistaken for suspicious packages around town over the last week. Indeed, if you go to the Greenpeace homepage, it turns out that not only was Greenpeace responsible, but they actually did it in collaboration with street artist Mark Jenkins -- so both of our guesses were correct!

Greenpeace has unveiled a collaborative art project with well-known street artist Mark Jenkins. The project highlights the shared plight of polar bears and humans in the face of global warming. We hope these polar bear street art installations help people draw a deeper and more immediate connection to the reality of the crisis.

Continue reading "Greenpeace, Mark Jenkins Take Responsibility for Polar Bears"

Flickr user benmiller23 spotted this polar bear installation, which looks very similar to the one that a bomb squad tore apart after shutting down surrounding streets and a Metro station in Columbia Heights today, on the National Mall on Thursday, Sept. 11.

Metro says the Columbia Heights Metro station reopened at 11:45 a.m., "following a report of a suspicious package located outside the station." No mention of the bear at all. The station was closed for approximately an hour and 40 minutes. NBC4 says a neighborhood resident saw the bear between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. this morning, even though the police weren't called until 10. We've also heard that the bomb squad cut the bear open, so if it was an art installation, the art has been destroyed. Since trains traveling through the Metro station were still able to pass through during the closure, any residual delays should be very minor.

Via the DCist tipline, we get this image from Irving and 14th Streets of an odd looking bear costume wearing tattered clothing and posed over a trash can. A lot of our readers are telling us this is the reason for the suspicious package alert. "Cops have the street blocked off and are standing around looking at it as of 9:30 am," the tipster wrote. Could this be another Aqua Teen Hunger Force moment?

A suspicious package found outside the Columbia Heights Metro closed the station at 10:03 a.m. No one is being allowed inside the station, though WMATA says Green and Yellow line trains continue to operate, they just are not stopping at Columbia Heights. Free shuttle buses should be available between the Georgia Ave-Petworth and U St/African-Amer Civil War Memorial/Cardozo stations.

Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham sent the following email out to the Columbia Heights email list just before 1 p.m.:

The suspicious package incident that closed McPherson Square midday today is all cleared up as of about 3:45 p.m.. The park and surrounding roads have reopened after a hazardous materials crew found that containers left near a dumpster at 15th and I Streets NW did not contain anything dangerous.

      

A suspicious package at 15th and K Streets NW has prompted police and hazardous materials responders to close off McPherson Square. The package in questions is reportedly some containers placed near a dumpster that appear to contain a chlorine-like substance. One reader tells us that fire trucks are lined up along 13th Street and that the MPD are clearing people out of the park. We'll update when we learn more. More: Current street closures due to the haz mat investigation are 15th and K St. NW; 14th and New York Ave. NW to Vermont Ave, to 15th St.; and, 15th and I St. NW.

Hains Point is something of a peaceful getaway for the area's cyclists and runners -- generally free from vehicular traffic, the 3-mile loop also known as East Potomac Park is flat and affords views of the Washington Channel and the Potomac River. And while the park is nowhere near any of the city's office buildings or monuments, one cyclist recently learned not to assume that the U.S. Park Police that patrols it isn't sensitive to perceived security threats.