Capitol Police: No Sign of Active Shooter After 'Bogus Call' Prompts Senate Building Lockdown
19:10 GMT 02.08.2023 (Updated: 05:21 GMT 03.08.2023)
© AFP 2023 / ALEX EDELMAN
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An earlier warning issued by US Capitol Police urged individuals within the Senate office buildings to shelter-in-place after officials received a 911 call reporting an active shooter.
US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger revealed during a Wednesday news conference that all three Senate office buildings were cleared in response to an active shooter report, explaining the 911 call was likely a hoax.
“This may have been a bogus call,” Manger told reporters at a briefing at roughly 4 p.m. local time.
“We responded within seconds, we had a group of officers there. We have been training for active shooters for the last couple of years … so it was very quickly, we had a group of about 20 officers who started going floor to floor through that building,” Manger said, noting that some 200 officers had successfully cleared all three buildings.
“So far we’ve found nothing concerning, we’ve got nobody that actually heard shots and certainly no victims and as we go through the building nobody has said they’ve seen anything,” the Capitol Police chief said.
He noted that additional calls came into 911, but that they believed it was friends and family of staffers who had told them about the lockdown and who then decided to call 911 themselves.
An initial statement issued by the USCP via Twitter just before 3 p.m. local time stated that officers were “searching in and around the Senate Office Buildings in response to a concerning 911 call. Please stay away from the area as we are still investigating."
"If you are inside the Senate Buildings, everyone inside should be sheltering in place as the report was for a possible active shooter. It should be noted that we do not have any confirmed reports of gunshots," it added at the time.
Video posted on social media showed a group of people being led out of the Russell Senate Office Building with arms raised and through a police line. The building is the closer of three office buildings to the US Capitol and immediately adjacent to the USCP headquarters.
People being led out of Russell Senate Office Building amid reports of possible active shooter pic.twitter.com/VC4Kpe2Kux
— bryan metzger (@metzgov) August 2, 2023
Observers noted at the time that police were searching the Dirksen and Hart Buildings as well.
Observers reported "at least 50" police cars reporting to the scene, including dozens of officers with "long guns" - that is, rifles - and said police were telling bystanders outside the buildings to "run away."
Scary. Major police response at the US Capitol Russell Building, police yelling at people to run away. pic.twitter.com/h6PY0Zj9Cw
— Corey Walters (@cjmithli) August 2, 2023
An alert that reportedly went out to Senate staffers was also circulating on social media, which described the steps to take in order to shelter in place. It included directives to "close, lock, and stay away from external doors and windows" and that no one will be permitted to enter or leave the building until directed to do so by Capitol Police.
BREAKING: Senate staffers just received this warning about an “internal security threat” pic.twitter.com/SLOttSGsB1
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) August 2, 2023
Audio of the DC Fire and EMS dispatch sent out to officers was also posted online by reporters, revealing that the 911 caller “stated a staff member is shooting.”
Audio of DC Fire and EMS dispatch to Hart Senate Office Building for a reported active shooter by a staff member. “Stated a staff member is shooting.” pic.twitter.com/VRqvd9nzQ5
— Mark Burnett 🇺🇸 (@MarkBurnettDC) August 2, 2023
A spokesperson for DC Metropolitan Police Department later told reporters that the active shooter report "appears to be a bad call," adding that "no injuries and no shooter were located."
