USA TODAY headquarters evacuated; police confirm report of man with a weapon

[brooklynite]

Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON — USA TODAY's headquarters in McLean, Virginia was being evacuated Wednesday amid a heavy police presence after authorities responded to a report of a man with a weapon at the suburban Washington building.

Alarms sounded inside the building as police squad cars, firetrucks and ambulanes converged on the scene. Law enforcement officers with rifles and body armor were patrolling the area and a helicopter hovered overhead.

The building houses the headquarters of USA TODAY, its parent company, Gannett Co., and offices for a variety of other businesses.

Fairfax County police tweeted around noon that they were responding to reports of a man with a weapon at the building. Officials provided no other details.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/07/usa-today-headquarters-evacuated-after-report-man-gun/1944136001/

[ewagner]

1. I understand it was a false alarm...

or at the least, there was no danger.

[brooklynite]

3. My recollection is that the rules don't allow Tweets as a source of LBN.

[Igel]

5. Often there are news articles

posted with no more basis than tweets. Sometimes with cunningly edited video.

This just cuts out the middleman.

[George II]

4. When my mother worked for the American Jewish Committee (in the East 50s)....

They would get a bomb threat about once a month and have to evacuate the building. This went on for more than 20 years until she retired.

I notice that they now don't even have their physical address on their website.

[Ellipsis]

6. Probably someone upset by the merger.

Lost thier job.