The White House was evacuated Sunday night while the US president was at Camp David after the Secret Service discovered suspicious powder in a common room, which preliminary tests had concluded was cocaine, police sources said.
Secret Service agents were making routine rounds on Sunday when they found the white powder in an area accessible to tour groups in the west wing of the White House, officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The complex was evacuated around 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, and firefighters and emergency teams were called to the scene for a rapid test, preliminarily identifying the cocaine.
The White House quickly reopened shortly after it was evacuated, and the powder was sent for further investigation.
Joe Biden and his family left for Camp David on Friday and returned to the White House on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Secret Service explained that the White House was closed as a precaution while teams investigated, and that the District of Columbia Fire Department was called to evaluate and determine if the substance was not hazardous.
“The item has been sent for further evaluation and an investigation into why and how it entered the White House should be investigated,” he said.
Source: DN
