U.S. Capitol Police officers arrested a man they said was carrying a rifle near the Capitol Tuesday afternoon after an onlooker called in a tip.
Capitol Police said in a press release that officers arrived at the park across from Union Station at about 12:40 p.m., they demanded the man drop the gun.
When the man refused, Capitol Police said one of its officers used a stun gun on the suspect, who they identified as 21-year old Ahmir Lavon Merrell of Atlanta, Georgia.
“See something, say something’ is not just an empty slogan. We are grateful for the individual who alerted our officer to the man with a gun in the park,” Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a statement. “These cops immediately ran toward the man with the loaded gun. As always — I am proud of our cops.”
Capitol Police noted that Merrell had a warrant for a probation violation out of Georgia, but it was not clear what he was doing in Washington, D.C. Police said he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, having unregistered ammunition, and an unregistered firearm, being a fugitive from justice, and unlawful activities.
Police said that they will continue to investigate.
Earlier Tuesday, Capitol Police said it has “no reason to believe there is an ongoing threat.” The police did not provide any additional details about the incident at the time, but videos and photos posted to X, formerly Twitter, showed a heavy police presence in the area and two officers escorting a man to a police car.
Officers also searched the area in the park where the man was apprehended, and said the park has been secured. Officers are going to also search the man’s belongings “out of an abundance of caution,” police added.
Capitol Police also warned residents at the time to avoid the area due to police activity. Police had closed roads near the park to investigate the scene.
In an update posted a little after 3 p.m., Capitol Police said that it cleared the area and that the roads were reopened. The update did not include any new information about the suspect.
Updated at 6:02 p.m.