Health and Human Services headquarters in DC evacuated after bomb threat

The headquarters for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was evacuated Wednesday morning “out of an abundance of caution” after a bomb threat.

The building, located at 200 Independence Avenue SW near the Capitol, was evacuated as authorities investigated.

“This morning there was a bomb threat received at the Humphrey Building. Out of an abundance of caution, we evacuated the building and there is no reported incident. We are monitoring the situation closely with Federal Protective Service,” Sarah Lovenheim, HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, wrote in an email to WTOP.

HHS oversees a variety of health agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The WTOP Traffic Center said police activity had closed Independence Avenue in Southwest D.C. between 4 Street and 2nd Street NE and 3rd Street, C Street and Washington Avenue SW.

Capitol Police allowed the roads to reopen to traffic around 2 p.m.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

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