US Capitol Police headquarters evacuated due to suspicious vehicle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Capitol Police headquarters was evacuated and surrounding streets closed off on Tuesday after a report of a suspicious vehicle on the block, the police said.

The police statement urged occupants to leave the building while they investigated and move to designated gathering areas. It directed staff and other personnel to avoid the area until further notice.

Capitol Police said a police dog had indicated interest in the vehicle, which was on the same block as the headquarters.

The Capitol Police headquarters building is on D Street NE near U.S. Senate office buildings across the street from the Capitol grounds.

The area has periodic security scares, including in August 2022 when a 29-year-old Delaware man died in an apparent suicide after crashing his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol and firing shots into the air. In 2021, a vehicle attack at the Capitol killed one Capitol Police officer and injured another.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Susan Heavey and Matthew Lewis)