WASHINGTON — Fort Totten Park closed Tuesday after a National Park Service employee found two metal canisters in a mound of soil in the park.
The National Park Service says a portion of the park is closed "out of an abundance of caution and until more research can be completed."
The park is closed just east of Fort Totten Drive, south of Gallatin Street, and north of Brookland Ave NE/Farragut Street.
The United States Park Police has the site blocked off, and the Park Service is urging people to stay out of the area.
The U.S. Army will analyze the canisters and any contents at Marine Corps Base Quantico, the Park Service said.
The origins of the canisters and several mounds of soil along the edge of the road are under investigation.
The Park Service says this isn't the first time this has happened.
"In July 2020, the NPS discovered an empty WWI-era metal canister on the surface of the ground in a different area of Fort Totten Park (east of the Metrorail Station) while working on the Fort Totten Trail. At the time, the NPS thought that the canister could be an unexploded ordnance, and the canister was immediately removed from the site and inspected by the Department of Defense (DOD). The information provided by DOD indicates the munition was an unfused and unused, empty canister, and it was safely disposed of. The source of the munition is unknown. Following the 2020 discovery, the NPS investigated the area around the trail for additional metal canisters and none were found."
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