Hoax Bomb Destroyed at D.C. Hotel

WASHINGTON – Fire and Emergency Medical Services destroyed a hoax bomb Sunday found in Washington, D.C.'s famous Renaissance Mayflower Hotel.

D.C. Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter said that the bomb squad had confirmed a possible explosive device in the building and emergency responders had evacuated about 300 people from the hotel.

Bomb technicians went in to "disrupt the device," which they then learned was a phony, Etter said.

Bomb technicians disabled the device using a water cannon at 2:20 p.m. EDT, he said.

"It has been rendered safe at this point," Etter told FOX News. "This was not a real device, although it appears someone constructed this device possibly with the intent of scaring some people."

Etter said bomb technicians were "presented with a device that looked very real." He said it had been brought to the basement, though he is uncertain where it was first found.

He added that D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, the Metropolitan Police Department and FBI all responded to the scene and they will now hold an investigation into its origin and placement at the hotel.

Members of the squad took bomb-sniffing dogs through the hotel to make sure no other devices were found. A second suspicious package found turned out to be a box of books.

The Mayflower, in the "K Street corridor" where many of the city's lobbying and law firms are located, is one of Washington's most famous hotels, known for housing visiting diplomats and holding tony social events. It sits five blocks from the White House.