A US Capitol Police spokesperson says a bomb squad has safely destroyed a pressure cooker found in a "suspicious" vehicle left unattended near the Capitol building that houses Congress and that the vehicle's owner has been arrested.
Lt Kimberly A Schneider told The Associated Press by email that officers on patrol spotted the parked, unoccupied vehicle on Sunday on a street on the National Mall west of the Capitol and an odor of gasoline was also detected. She says a bomb squad "disrupted the items of concern in the vehicle including the pressure cooker," producing a loud bang about 7:45pm.
She says the vehicle owner, Israel Shimeles of Alexandria, Virginia, was located, arrested and charged with "operating after revocation" and was being processed at Capitol Police headquarters.