Doug Emhoff rushed out of D.C. high school event over bomb threat

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff rushed out of school over bomb threat

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff was rushed out of an event at Dunbar High School in Northwest Washington, D.C., Tuesday over a bomb threat. Emhoff is safe, as are others who were on the scene, according to D.C. police and Emhoff's office.  

Secret Service whisked Emhoff out of the building at 2:18 p.m., and Emhoff's staff told reporters attending the event that the school had reported a threat to U.S. Secret Service. An announcement came over the intercom at 2:34 p.m. asking teachers to evacuate the school, and reporters left as well. The second gentleman's office confirmed he was rushed from the building over the threat. D.C. police responded and were at the scene. 

Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, is whisked out of an event at a high school by a Secret Service agent following an apparent security concern February 8, 2022, in Washington. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Students, who were in fourth period at the time, assembled on the field. 

D.C. Public Schools press secretary Enrique Gutierrez confirmed there had been a bomb threat and that everyone was safe. 

"We had a threat today to the facility so we did — basically we took the precaution of evacuating everybody, as you saw. I think everyone is safe. The building is clear. But I don't have any specific details at this moment," Gutierrez told reporters. 

No device has been found; police and U.S. Secret Service are investigating.

Dunbar Principal Nadine Smith told reporters the school district directed the high school to send students home after the building was cleared. 

Emhoff was visiting Dunbar High School's Museum of Dunbar History for a Black History Month event. The school, founded in 1870, was America's first public high school specifically for Black students. 

The Secret Service did not provide reporters any more details about the incident. Vice President Kamala Harris was not at the event. 

Harris had her own bomb scare last year. She was evacuated from the Democratic National Committee headquarters on January 6, 2021, when a pipe bomb was discovered.

This is a developing story. 

Pat Milton contributed to this report.

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