Posted Tuesday, Oct. 17, 10:40 p.m. Occupants of the Marvin Center were sent out into the chilly weather Monday night as University Police urgently evacuated the student center at about 9:23 p.m. because of a suspicious package.

Tracy Schario, director of media relations, said a black bag was found inside a BMW car with its door left open in the parking garage adjacent to the Marvin Center. UPD was called; they in turn called Metropolitan Police to the scene. MPD did an inspection of the bag, determining it was not a threat, Schario said.

UPD officers made the rounds throughout the building, banging on doors and directing students and staff to University Yard. No officials on scene would talk about details of the situation.

The public was allowed to reenter the Marvin Center at about 9:50 p.m., but UPD remained with vehicles blocking H Street between 21st and 22nd streets. Students initially congregated on the corner of 21st and H streets until about 9:30 p.m., when police ordered them to either University Yard or Kogan Plaza.

“They just started screaming, ‘get out’ – there was a lot of knocking on windows by UPD,” junior Amanda Bates said. “They told us to head to University Yard to wait for more information, but nobody came to talk to us.”

A man who identified himself as Dwight, an employee at the J Street Wendy’s, was one of the first Marvin Center staff allowed to reenter the facility at 9:43 p.m. Schario said people were allowed to reenter the building in “staged order.”

“They told everybody to leave,” Dwight said. “People left quickly and the police didn’t say anything about what was going on.”

Residents of nearby Crawford and Schenley Halls were not told to leave, but police did not allow anyone to enter those buildings after the Marvin Center was cleared out.

-David Ceasar, Ryan Holeywell and Sam Salkin contributed to this report.