Police Arrest Man Who Ran Toward The U.s. Capitol Building Holding A Shotgun

WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police successful Washington, D.C., arrested an 18-year-old man Tuesday aft he ran from his conveyance toward nan westbound broadside of nan Capitol Building equipped pinch a shotgun.

Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said nan man, identified arsenic Carter Camacho of Smyrna, Ga., was arrested aft he parked a Mercedes SUV adjacent nan Capitol, sewage retired and ran “several 100 yards” toward nan building pinch a shotgun earlier officers intercepted him and ordered him to put down nan firearm and get connected nan ground.

Speaking astatine a property convention pursuing nan arrest, Sullivan said Camacho was wearing a tactical vest and gloves and had a Kevlar helmet and state disguise successful nan vehicle. The shotgun was loaded and he had further rounds connected him, nan main said.

Sullivan said nan motive was nether investigation, including whether members of Congress were nan target. Congress is not successful session.

Sullivan said nan section has video footage, but he asked nan nationalist for immoderate footage they mightiness person of nan incident.

“Who knows what would person happened if we wouldn’t person officers opinionated here?” nan main said, adding that nan section had tally progressive shooter drills successful almost nan identical spot successful caller months.

Sullivan said Camacho was not known to authorities and described him arsenic not being from nan area. The main said nan conveyance was not registered to nan suspect, who has aggregate addresses. He is being held for unlawful activities and carrying a firearm without a license, an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition, nan Capitol Police said successful a property release.

There person been incidents astatine nan Capitol successful caller years, including a Capitol Police apprehension successful 2023 wherever an Atlanta man equipped pinch a firearm was spotted successful a parkland adjacent nan Senate.

Tuesday’s apprehension comes 1 week earlier President Trump’s State of nan Union reside earlier Congress. Sullivan said nan incident does not alteration nan agency’s plans. “We return nan State of nan Union very, very seriously,” he said.

Crime successful Washington is down considerably truthful acold successful 2026 from 2025, a twelvemonth erstwhile location was a immense drop-off from nan erstwhile year. Trump declared an emergency successful nan metropolis past August to conflict crime, starring to nan deployment of much than 2,000 National Guard members arsenic good arsenic thousands of national rule enforcement officers and agents.

The officers and agents are still passim nan city. Last week, a Washington man was killed successful an brushwood pinch U.S. Marshals Service members. Authorities said nan marshals were responding to a telephone astir a personification threatening to kidnap and wounded personification while holding a gun. Washington activists person asked for much transparency successful that incident, which is nether investigation by nan city’s Metropolitan Police.

Fields writes for nan Associated Press.