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Bomb Squad Shuts Down Tenleytown Street Over Suspicious Device That Was a Sex Toy

The strong police response highlights how unclear electronic items can trigger explosive‑ordnance protocols and major morning traffic disruption.

Overview

  • A person left a blue-and-black electronic device with exposed wires behind D.C. Fire and EMS Engine 20, which prompted calls to police just after 7 a.m. Wednesday.
  • D.C. police’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit and K-9 team responded and cleared the item around 9 a.m., with no injuries reported.
  • Police records officially identified the recovered object as an “electronic sex portable pump device,” a type of adult toy.
  • The response closed Wisconsin Avenue NW between 40th Street and Warren Street for nearly two hours and caused rush-hour delays in the Tenleytown neighborhood.
  • Officials said the incident reflects standard bomb-squad protocols for unknown electronic items and underscores how misidentified objects can produce large public-safety operations.