USA Today staff have been evacuated from its HQ at the Gannet Building in McLean, Virginia, after police arrived to respond to reports of a man with a weapon.
"We are responding to reports of a man with a weapon at the Gannett Building located at 7950 Jones Branch Drive in McLean. Please avoid the area," Fairfax County Police tweeted.
Later, they updated the public about developments on the scene.
UPDATE: We are working to investigate this reported threat. Officers are currently working to clear the building. At this time, we have found no evidence of any acts of violence or injuries. #FCPD #FairfaxCounty pic.twitter.com/CbCfsO2etj
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) August 7, 2019
Employees were advised to leave the building.
Evacuation at Tegna and USA Today building in Tysons. Suspicious activity. Building evacuated. Police on scene. pic.twitter.com/8QvmTcrW0P
— Shauna McNally (@Shauna_McNally) August 7, 2019
🇺🇸 — UPDATE: The @USATODAY headquarters in McLean, Virginia was evacuated after reports of someone who may have had a weapon in the building. pic.twitter.com/WQQFAzeKc6
— BELAAZ (@TheBelaaz) August 7, 2019
SWAT teams evacuation at @USATODAY HQ in Tysons pic.twitter.com/dCh6d160Uv
— William Dyer (@wdyerz) August 7, 2019
Gannett, the owner of newspaper USA Today, announced on Monday that it will merge with GateHouse Media in a deal valued at roughly $1.4 billion.
Last Saturday, a gunman opened fire at visitors at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people. Nine more people lost their lives during a separate attack on a nightlife district in Dayton, Ohio, in the early hours of Sunday.