WASHINGTON — The U.S. Capitol Police are investigating what they are calling a "false report of an active shooter on Capitol Grounds" that prompted officials inside the Senate Office Buildings to shelter in place for a little over an hour Wednesday.
According to tweets from the U.S. Capitol Police, officers began searching in and around the Senate Buildings after someone called in a report of an active shooter around 2:30 p.m. By 4:04 p.m. USCP said all three buildings had been cleared, but not reopened. No evidence of an active shooter being inside was found.
In a brief press conference, USCP Chief Tom Manger said DC Police received the initial 911 call saying there was an active shooter in the Hart Building on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol.
"We responded in seconds," Manger said. "We have been training for active shooters for the last couple of years, and we've been training inside these office buildings. So it was very quick we had a group of about 20 officers going floor to floor in that building."
Eventually, close to 200 officers responded to the scene and went through all three Senate buildings.
Manger received confirmation that all three had been cleared during the press conference, and said no one inside the building reported hearing shots, or had seen a shooter.
"I think at this point we can say we found no confirmation that there was an active shooter, and this may have been a bogus call," Manger said.
The chief said that no one was stopped from leaving the building, during the clearing in process, but no one was being allowed back into the building.
Congress was out of session for the August recess.
The shelter-in-place comes the day before former President Donald Trump is due to be arraigned in a D.C. court on felony charges stemming from the Jan. 6 insurrection. Manger was asked if he had any concerns ahead of the appearance.
"We are prepared for tomorrow," Manger said. "We've been working with our partner agencies -- MPD, US Park, Secret Service and Federal Protection Service -- we've all been working together for if the indictment did happen for a couple of weeks now."
Manger answered succinctly that there was a security plan in place for Thursday, but declined to share any details.
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US Capitol Police tell people inside Senate Office Buildings to shelter in place
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