(Washington) The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday night — while President Joe Biden was at Camp David — after the Secret Service discovered suspicious gunpowder in a West Wing common area.
However, a preliminary test showed that it was cocaine, according to two members of the police force.
Secret Service agents making their routine rounds on Sunday found the white powder in an area accessible to tour groups, not a West Wing office, officials said.
These sources were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The complex was evacuated around 8.45pm on Sunday evening as firefighters and emergency crews were dispatched to carry out a rapid test, which preliminary identified the suspicious substance as cocaine. The White House was quickly reopened and the powder was sent for further testing.
The Bidens left for Camp David on Friday and returned to the White House on Tuesday.
The Secret Service said in a statement that the White House had been closed as a precaution, while emergency teams conducted their preliminary investigation. District of Columbia firefighters had been called in to assess and determine that the suspicious substance was not hazardous, it added.
“An investigation is underway into how [cette substance] entered the White House,” the Secret Service said.