"USA Today" HQ evacuated after unconfirmed report of person with a weapon - "USA Today"

08.08.2019, 11:54

Heavily armed police officers evacuated USA TODAY's headquarters in the Washington suburbs Wednesday after authorities said they received a report of a person with a weapon that ultimately proved to be unsubstantiated, as "USA Today" reported.

Fairfax County, Virginia, police reported that they had cleared the entire building without incident.

"This is a non-event," said Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. "Everyone is safe, and I do not have any evidence that a crime was committed."

Roessler said police had located a "person of interest" related to the case. The person was being questioned by police, but Roessler said the person was not linked to any crime.

Police received a call at 11:56 a.m., reporting that a man with gun was seen at the building, which holds the headquarters for USA TODAY, its parent company, Gannett Co., and offices for a variety of other businesses. The incident involved a company other than Gannett located in the building, Roessler said.

Barbara Wall, Gannett's acting chief operating officer, said police received a report Tuesday night that an employee of one those businesses had received a threatening text from a former co-worker. Police are seeking to determine if the incidents are linked.

Earlier at a briefing, Roessler said officers had been searching for a former employee of one of the companies who he described as a "person of interest." Authorities found the individual at another location.

USA TODAY headquarters were evacuated after police reported a man with a weapon at the building in suburban Washington, DC. Authorities said the incident turned out to be a mistaken report of a person with a weapon.

Alarms sounded inside the building early Wednesday afternoon as police squad cars, firetrucks and ambulances converged on the scene. Law enforcement officers with rifles and body armor searched stairwells and a helicopter hovered overhead as they escorted hundreds of employees out of the building.

Fairfax County police tweeted around noon that they were responding to reports of a man with a weapon at the building.

The overwhelming police response comes after the attack last year at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland. A gunman burst into the newsroom there and killed five employees of the paper. News organizations, including USA TODAY, tightened security after that shooting.

Roessler said authorities "treated this event as though we had an active shooter."

On Wednesday, police warned people to avoid the area, which is near the Capital Beltway, major regional malls and office buildings in the Washington suburbs.

The headquarters building houses non-newspaper offices. Hundreds of office workers were herded outside by police.

All USA TODAY and Gannett employees were believed to have evacuated the building safely, Dave Harmon, a human resources official, said in an email to employees.

Workers who fled reported hearing a fire alarm and an announcement over the loudspeaker about an incident inside the building.

"We've been drilled so well in school on this," said Akhil Kota, 21, who works for Appian, a software developer with offices inside the building.

"USA Today"

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