Police gave the all-clear at the Gannett building in Northern Virginia after it was evacuated Wednesday afternoon amid reports of a man with a weapon on the campus.
Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler said authorities cleared the Gannett building, which is the headquarters for USA Today, and that there was no evidence that a crime had occurred after reports that someone with a weapon had entered the facility.
“We need to look at this as a positive event,” Chief Roessler said. “Everybody in that building did the right thing: they saw something that was out of place and called 911.”
Chief Roessler said they located the person of interest, whom police said is a former employee of a business in the building.
“We can use this as a learning lesson but our prayers have been answered and everybody is safe,” he said.
Employees evacuated the building at about noon after someone called police saying they had seen an ex-employee with a weapon inside.
• Sophie Kaplan can be reached at skaplan@washingtontimes.com.
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