Washington Monument evacuated due to false bomb threat

October 7, 2005

Police evacuated the in  and sealed off surrounding streets today. This was due to a bomb threat made in the mid-afternoon.

Sgt. Scott Fear of the Park Police said the threat came in at 2:42 p.m. EDT by telephone. The area was evacuated shortly after and bomb-sniffing patrol dogs were called in. The search turned up nothing. Another law official, speaking anonymously because other agencies were involved, said the credibility was low but police didn't want to take any chances.

The monument was re-opened at 4:15 p.m. EDT.

The Washington Monument was closed until last spring due to a $15 million dollar security overhaul.