The Hill News

A suspicious package discovered at the north side of the Capitol building Thursday morning has been determined by Capitol Police to not be a threat.

The package was discovered at 7 a.m. by a Capitol Police officer on patrol. The area surrounding the package near the 200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW was then cordoned off.

Around 9:30 a.m., the department moved the suspicious item, loading it into a specialized truck operated by the Capitol Police bomb squad, said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, a Capitol Police spokeswoman.

It was then taken to Quantico, Va., with a Virginia State Police escort, Schneider added.

“The item was cleared at Quantico, VA with no hazards found,” she wrote in an email at 3.p.m. “Further investigation revealed that the item was a sewer nozzle cleaner that was being used for work in the area near where it was discovered.”