Arlington National Cemetery Evacuated over Bomb Threat, Investigation Underway
Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia was evacuated Wednesday morning after officials received a bomb threat.
Bomb technicians were sweeping cars at the cemetery in a search for explosives, according to WTOP-TV in Washington.
The Washington Post reported that evacuation of the facilities and grounds started around 9:30 Eastern time.
Arlington officials said an emergency services team from nearby Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall was on the scene investigating the threat.
“All families, visitors and employees were evacuated safely from all public buildings and work areas while the threat is being investigated,” cemetery officials announced in a tweet just before 11 a.m.
About a half-hour later, they provided an update indicating the 624-acre site was temporarily closed to the public but remained open for scheduled funerals.
#UPDATE: As of 11:30 a.m., the cemetery is temporarily closed to the general public but is open for conducting funeral services.
We will continue to post updates as they become available. https://t.co/gU5XSGeXVg
— Arlington National Cemetery (@ArlingtonNatl) August 22, 2018
At noon, the cemetery announced that it would be closed to the public for the rest of the day.
Eleven funerals were scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, according to WTOP.
Arlington spokeswoman Barbara Lewandrowski told The Post that the threat was made to the cemetery as a whole and not to one specific area.
She said officials were checking “every single part of the grounds and facilities.”
Crews responding to bomb threat at Arlington Cemetery https://t.co/6DCHh8qoNv pic.twitter.com/l1JQ7BQw4v
— WUSA9 (@wusa9) August 22, 2018
There was no immediate word on how the threat had been made.
The cemetery conducts 27 to 30 funerals each weekday, according to its official website.
“Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans and their families,” it says. “Service to country is the common thread that binds all who are remembered and honored at Arlington.”
The site is also home to the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery, where more than 14,000 veterans — many from the Civil War — are buried.
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