August 21, 2012
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A modern art museum on the National Mall in Washington was forced to close its doors on Monday after a security guard committed suicide on the premises, museum officials said.
A 41-year-old guard, who worked at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden for 10 years, shot himself in the guards' locker room, located in the basement of the facility, a museum official told AFP.
The museum was evacuated in the early afternoon and closed for the rest of the day, while police conducted an investigation.
The Hirshhorn is due to reopen again to the public on Tuesday.
