Roads reopen after 9/11 ceremony evacuated for suspicious item
Las Vegas police investigated a “suspicious item” Tuesday near the Sawyer Building in central Las Vegas.
The item was reported on the 500 block of East Washington Avenue, near Las Vegas Boulevard, the Metropolitan Police Department said. People in the area were participating in a ceremony at the Nevada State Veterans Memorial to honor 9/11 victims as part of a nationwide tour ahead of the 20th anniversary of the attacks.
The area was initially evacuated, but as of about 1 p.m., police spokesman Misael Parra said that the “situation is safe.” Roads were reopened shortly after.
It remained unclear what the item was, but police said it was deemed safe by the Las Vegas Fire Department. The investigation is ongoing, police said.
Rep. Steven Horsford posted to Twitter at about 12:45 p.m. that his staff was on scene at the state office building.
“I am thankful for the quick work by law enforcement to evacuate the building and surrounding area,” he said.
I am closely monitoring the situation at Grant Sawyer State Office Building, where a suspicious package was found at a 9/11 memorial event. My staff is on scene and I am thankful for the quick work by law enforcement to evacuate the building and surrounding area.
— Rep. Steven Horsford (@RepHorsford) March 23, 2021
The remembrance ceremony included an “honor walk” at the memorial that was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. It featured a touring 3D replica model of the former World Trade Center complex, meant to commemorate the anniversary.
The tour started in late January and is being held in various cities through Sept. 12, according to a news release from Honor365, a veteran nonprofit organization that helped organize the tour. The replica was given to Honor365 by DaanVan Der Steijn, its creator from the Netherlands, the release noted.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
