A report of a man carrying a gun in a downtown Washington parking garage led to an elevated security posture around the White House on Friday morning before authorities determined the call was unfounded.
The Metropolitan Police Department said officers responded shortly after 9 a.m. to the 1400 block of G Street NW, where a caller reported seeing an armed man in a parking structure. Officers carrying automatic weapons searched the area, while the U.S. Secret Service temporarily tightened security around the White House.
Uniformed Secret Service officers armed with long guns were stationed along the perimeter, and tourists were moved off Pennsylvania Avenue and out of Lafayette Square.
Police focused their search on a building along 15th Street NW but found no threat. The incident was later declared a false alarm.
Preliminary information suggested the man may have been carrying a prop weapon as part of a costume for the Otakon anime convention taking place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, but police authorities could not confirm this.
No injuries were reported, and normal operations around the White House resumed shortly after the search concluded.
