UPDATED: Unknown device that shut down Route 123 in front of CIA HQ identified

Updated at 2:40 p.m. — The electronic device discovered outside of CIA’s Langley headquarters, leading to a two-hour closure of Route 123, turned out to be innocuous, a CIA spokesperson says.

“The investigation identified the small electronic device by our front gate to be a remote for a dog training collar with no security implications,” CIA spokesperson Nicole de Haay told Tysons Reporter in a statement. “Our front gate is all clear, and the matter is resolved.”

Updated at 1:30 p.m. — Route 123 has reopened in front of the CIA in McLean, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

The road was closed for roughly two hours while the intelligence agency investigated “a small electronic device” found outside its headquarters with support from local police.

“In coordination with our law enforcement partners, we’re investigating a small electronic device found outside the secure perimeter of CIA Headquarters near our front gate,” CIA spokesperson Nicole de Haay said in a statement. “Consistent with our standard protocols, we’re taking the appropriate security precautions, which include closing the front gate to CIA Headquarters.”

De Haay said the CIA will update its statement as more details about the situation become known.

Earlier: Route 123 is currently closed to traffic around the CIA headquarters in McLean.

The Fairfax County Police Department said just after 11:20 a.m. that Dolley Madison Boulevard has been shut down between Georgetown Pike and Savile Lane “for law enforcement activity in the area.”

A traffic alert from Fairfax County says drivers should “expect delays for an undetermined amount of time.”

Just last month, Route 123 was closed in the CIA headquarters area in response to a security incident where an individual reportedly attempted to drive through the gates and was stopped by armed guards.

That incident concluded when an FBI agent who responded to the scene shot the man, who later died from his injuries and has never been publicly identified.

The CIA directed follow-up inquiries about the incident to the FBI, which said it was conducting an internal review of the incident in accordance with its policies for shootings involving agents.

The FBI told Tysons Reporter on May 20 that it had no further information or comment beyond its public statement, reprinted below, announcing the individual’s death.

The subject involved in the shooting incident outside CIA Headquarters at approximately 6 p.m. on Monday, May 3, 2021, died from his injuries after being transported to the hospital. The FBI reviews every shooting incident involving an FBI special agent. The review will carefully examine the circumstances of the shooting and collect all relevant evidence from the scene. As the review remains ongoing, we cannot provide any additional details at this time.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Route 123 in McLean is closed between Georgetown Pike and Savile Lane for law enforcement activity in the area. Please use an alternate route. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/gs3T8UkV3Y

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) June 18, 2021