U.S. Capitol Police investigating 2 suspicious packages

Updated: 8:34 a.m. | Posted: 8:16 a.m.

The Capitol Police were investigating two unattended packages near the Capitol on Tuesday, authorities said in a statement one day after the area was put on lockdown amid a shooting.

The packages were found outside the Capitol Visitor Center near the U.S. Library of Congress across the street, Capitol Police said in a statement.

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Police said shortly afterward they had inspected and cleared one of the packages.

One entrance to the visitor center was closed pending an investigation but the other remained open, the statement said. There is no impact to the U.S. Capitol or congressional office buildings, it added.

A Reuters witness reported the east side of the Capitol complex appeared on lockdown amid police activity in the area stretching from the Supreme Court to the Library of Congress. A bomb squad was also at the scene.

On Monday, a man was shot and wounded by police after he pointed what appeared to be a weapon at officers in the underground U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

The scares at the Capitol came amid heightened security concerns after last week's bombing in Brussels that killed 35 people.