Staffers carrying Halloween costumes and a toy gun have triggered a major security alert at the US Capitol in Washington DC.
Police locked down an office building and search it room by room.
The Cannon office building was shut down after two people passed through a security checkpoint yesterday with what appeared to be a revolver in a knapsack. Police said it was, in fact, a fake gun that was part of a Halloween costume.
Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said two female congressional staff members carried Halloween costumes that included a plastic weapon into the building.
"It was just an unusual set of Halloween circumstances," he said. "I don't think they had any ill intent. They're very sorry this all happened."
He declined to name the staffers or the member of Congress they work for, but said that when they realised police were looking for them, their boss called to explain what happened.
"I don't think anybody was trying to trick anybody," Chief Gainer said, adding that he did not think charges would be filed in the incident.
Police went on alert after the X-ray screen machine showed an image of what looked like a gun. Apparently, the security officer had been distracted momentarily by a visitor asking directions and when she looked at the X-ray image, the staffers had already left with their sack.
Before the alert was lifted, police locked down the building and began an office-by-office search.
On July 24th, 1998, an Illinois man with a history of mental illness ran through a metal detector and opened fire in the Capitol building, killing two US Capitol police officers and injuring a third as well as a tourist.
The suspected gunman had a history of schizophrenic and delusional behaviour. A federal judge ruled in 1999 that he was incompetent to stand trial and he remains in custody.