Authorities detonate suspicious device near US Capitol

[WASHINGTON] US authorities on Sunday blew up a pressure cooker found in a vehicle parked near the US Capitol and later arrested the vehicle's owner.

Pressure cooker bombs were used to kill three people and injured more than 250 others at the Boston Marathon in April 2013.

US Capitol Police officers on routine patrol found the suspicious vehicle on 3rd Street across from the Capitol's west lawn, spokeswoman Lt. Kimberly Schneider said. They found the pressure cooker and also detected the odour of gasoline.

The Capitol Police's Hazardous Devices Section closed off nearby streets and "disrupted the items of concern in the vehicle," including the pressure cooker, Schneider added.

A subsequent investigation found nothing hazardous, but the vehicle's owner, a Virginia man, was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle after his licence had been revoked.

The US Secret Service, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, police and other federal agencies assisted during the incident and aftermath.

REUTERS