WASHINGTON — A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) case closed a portion of a road in Southwest D.C. early Wednesday because of a barricade situation, according to a spokesperson for the DEA.
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers closed a portion of M Street Southwest to assist the federal law enforcement agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was also called to the scene.
The street was shut down between the unit block and the 200 block of M Street Southwest for several hours early Wednesday morning. Drivers were asked to avoid the area. An MPD watch commander says officers were called to the area late Tuesday night and set up a perimeter. Officers also assisted with traffic control.
A spokesperson for the DEA said the situation started around 9 p.m. Tuesday night, when agents attempted to serve a warrant. The warrant was related to an ongoing drug and guns case, according to DEA Communications Director Katherine Hayek. In the overnight hours, a barricade situation developed, and the FBI and MPD were called to assist, shutting down a portion of the street.
"The DEA does not typically call for road closures but did so in this case to ensure public safety," Hayek said in a statement.
M Street Southwest was reopened around 8:30 a.m.
Hayek did not offer further details about the DEA's ongoing case or if any suspects had been taken into custody.