Visit by U.S. second gentleman to D.C. high school interrupted by bomb threat

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 - Emhoff, married to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, was visiting Dunbar High School to celebrate Black History Month, dedicated to honouring the achievements and struggles of African Americans throughout U.S. history.

He was attending a presentation at around 2:20 p.m. ET (1920 GMT) when Secret Service agents ushered him off stage and out of the building.

Teachers and students at the school were ordered to evacuate shortly afterwards.

A spokesperson for D.C. Public Schools told a reporter at the scene there "was a bomb threat" reported at the school.

"We had a threat today to the facility," District of Columbia Public Schools press secretary Enrique Gutierrez explained. "Basically we took the precaution of evacuating everybody, as you saw. I think everyone is safe."

"The building is clear. But I don't have any specific details at this moment," Gutierrez said.

The incident came one week after more than a dozen historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) around the United States received bomb threats.

More than 90 per cent of Dunbar High School's students are African Americans, according to the D.C. School Superintendent's website.

A law enforcement official has said the FBI has identified six persons of interest around the country, all juveniles, who are suspected of making the threats against the HBCUs.

The official added they appear to be "tech-savvy," using sophisticated methods to try to disguise the source of the threats, which appear to have a racist motivation.

Xinhua