DC Police K9. Suspicious package in front of Warner Theatre
— Kristin Wright (@kwrightnbc4)
Homeland Security Police K9 — Kristin Wright (@kwrightnbc4)
WASHINGTON — The Warner Theatre and adjacent buildings were evacuated, out of what D.C. police called “an abundance of caution,” as police investigated a suspicious package on Tuesday morning.
The investigation closed streets surrounding the theater including Pennsylvania Avenue, 13th Street and E Street. The resulting closures created gridlock throughout Downtown D.C. Entrances to the nearby Metro Center Station were also closed.
Police said they had ended their investigation about 11:30 a.m. and traffic conditions were beginning to ease. All Metro station entrances have reopened.
The first road closure was reported about 8:30 a.m., but more blocks were closed as the morning continued.
ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ was backed up in the Third Street Tunnel and Constitution Avenue was jammed as drivers tried to work around the blocked roads. ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ moved slowly on Fourteenth and F streets, which remained open.
On Monday morning, a suspicious package investigation at the FBI’s Hoover Building, which is several blocks from the Warner Theatre, also closed a several-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue.