Man who said he had bomb in vehicle near White House taken into police custody

Police did not know the man’s motive, says official

First responders and police investigate a possible bomb threat near the US Capitol and Library of Congress in Washington, DC on Thursday. Photograph:  Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty
First responders and police investigate a possible bomb threat near the US Capitol and Library of Congress in Washington, DC on Thursday. Photograph: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty

A man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck near the US Capitol was taken into custody by police on Thursday after a five-hour standoff that prompted an evacuation of nearby buildings and paralysed a section of Washington for much of the day.

“He stepped out and they got him. We have one in custody,” a police officer told Reuters.

Capitol Police chief J Thomas Manger told reporters that the man parked his vehicle on a sidewalk outside the US Library of Congress at about 1.15pm Irish time and told an officer who approached him that he had a bomb while holding what appeared to be a detonator.

Police did not know the man’s motive, he said. – Reuters