Gannett Building Safe After Report Of Man With Weapon In Tysons

MCLEAN, VA — Fairfax County Police deemed the Gannett Building in Tysons safe after a 911 call about an ex-employee with a weapon Wednesday. The newspaper building, located at 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, houses the USA Today headquarters along with other businesses. There were no reported injuries.

A person of interest was located in another part of Fairfax County, Police Chief Ed Roessler Jr. told reporters. Roessler said the person of interest is an ex-employee of a business in the Gannett Building. Police are communicating with the person of interest, but there is no immediate evidence of a crime.

Police received the 911 call of an ex-employee armed with a weapon before noon. Officers searched the complex floor by floor and helped employees who sheltered in place to evacuate. The continuing investigation will involve reviewing video footage and follow-up interviews to determine if a person with a weapon was in the building.

The ex-employee was not publicly identified in a press conference.

A reunification center for those affected by the police activity is at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Drive.

Gannett, the country’s largest newspaper chain and publisher of USA Today, has agreed to merge with GateHouse Media. Both companies have touted the merger as a way to control costs in an industry reeling by declining advertising sales and competition from online sources.

The cash-and-stock deal is worth about $1.38 billion and financed in part with new private-equity debt. The two companies would operate more than 260 daily news operations, USA Today reports.

The combined company will be based at Gannett’s headquarters.