Christmas ornament shuts Pentagon rail station

A blinking package forced the closure of the Pentagon subway station for 90 minutes at rush hour on Wednesday -- until the suspicious item turned out to be a Christmas ornament.

Police at the US defence department's headquarters sent in sniffer dogs and bomb disposal experts in protective suits after a worker at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority saw the object in a trash can at around 7:15am.

Eventually they "determined it to be a Christmas ornament that had red blinking lights," said Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesperson. "Once they determined there was no threat, the all-clear was given."

Just outside Washington in Arlington, Virginia, the Pentagon has seen a number of security incidents since it became a target of the September 11 attacks in 2001.

In March, a gunman shot and wounded two security guards near the entrance to the five-sided building.

In October, a gunman using a high-powered rifle fired up to seven shots at the massive structure, shattering two windows.
The FBI linked that incident with four other shootings at military sites around the area.