Bomb Scare at Embassy

D.C. police blocked off part of Pennsylvania Avenue NW yesterday so a bomb squad could detonate two suspicious packages discovered after a man from the Sudan refused to leave the Canadian Embassy. Neither package contained explosives, authorities said.

The man, identified by a law enforcement source as Amir Hamad Ibrahim, appeared to have a seizure during a confrontation with embassy security and Secret Service uniformed officers about 1:30 p.m. He was placed in an ambulance and was treated before being taken into custody.

Capt. Steven Rouscher, of the Secret Service, said one package contained clothing and other personal items. The second package, found across the street, appeared to be unrelated; it contained some tools, he said.

Rouscher said the suspect arrived at the embassy by taxi with several bags of clothes, books and other belongings. When he went into the embassy, he refused to say what he wanted, Rouscher said.

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