National Zoo evacuated due to bomb threat

WASHINGTON — Police are investigating a bomb threat at the Smithsonian National Zoo in D.C. Tuesday afternoon. DC Police evacuated the park as a precaution and some roads in the area are closed.

Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to the zoo, located in the 3000 block of Connecticut Avenue Northwest around 11:15 a.m. A command post has been established as a sweep of the park continues.

Police have closed 2900 - 3100 block of Connecticut Avenue Northwest until further notice while the investigation continues.

Additional details were not immediately available. The zoo has not issued any statements about the threat, and police have not made any statements on the credibility of the threat. 

This latest threat comes after authorities in Maryland and Virginia have investigated a series of threats at schools.

Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones is taking a firm stance against false threats, known as swatting, after a series of incidents in the region caused several unnecessary evacuations.

Last week, Bullis High School in Potomac, Maryland was evacuated over a bomb threat.

On Aug. 18, shoppers at Montgomery Mall were also evacuated following a similar threat.

Both threats were deemed to be not credible, according to Montgomery County Police. And no arrests have been made as a result of the false threats.

In Stafford County, a student is facing charges after police say they left a threatening message on an elementary school's voicemail this weekend. 

According to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office, the violent threat was discovered on Anthony Burns Elementary School's voicemail Monday.