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Police evacuate building near U.S. Capitol after bomb threat


    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Authorities evacuated people from several floors of a U.S. Senate office building on Tuesday after receiving a bomb threat by telephone, U.S. Capitol Police said.

    Police spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider said Capitol Police received the call and are investigating a report of suspicious package in room G-40 of the Dirksen building, part of the complex near the U.S. Capitol.

    Dirksen houses various offices for U.S. senators and their staff as well as hearing rooms.

    "Several floors in the (Dirksen building) have been evacuated as a precaution while the USCP continues to investigate," Schneider said in a statement.

    The evacuation interrupted a Senate hearing on the Transportation Security Administration.

    (Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Richard Cowan; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)