By Lindsay Whitehurst
A man with a rifle was arrested in a park near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, police said.
Police confronted 21-year-old Ahmir Lavon Merrell of Atlanta after someone saw him with the gun in a park near Senate office buildings and told an officer, U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement. Officers demanded that he drop the gun, but he refused and they used a Taser stun gun to subdue him, police said.
The park and roads in the area across from Washington’s Union Station were closed for about two hours as officers searched the area and Merrell's belongings.
Officers said they did not believe there was an ongoing threat. It was not immediately clear why he was in Washington. No publicly listed contacts were available for him, and a lawyer who represented him on a previous case did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said he was proud of officers who “ran toward the man with the loaded gun.”
Carrying firearms is prohibited on U.S. Capitol grounds. So far this year, U.S. Capitol Police have confiscated more than 30 guns.
After the arrest, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he supports a ban on guns often referred to as assault weapons. “We are keeping a constant vigilance on security” in the Capitol, he said.
Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this story.
If you fly the skies often you know how challenging and expensive navigating an airport is. Cheddar's own Ashley Mastronardi finds out how you can stretch your dollar when flying.
Thursday night's $1 billion Powerball jackpot has a winner with the ticket being sold in Los Angeles.
New York City could pay out $13 million to racial injustice protesters, many of whom were arrested and beaten during the protests after George Floyd's murder.
The president of Stanford University Marc Tessier-Lavigne resigned after the board of trustees determined several academic reports he authored contained manipulated data.
The wife of Rex Heuermann, the man suspected of multiple murders in Gilgo Beach, Long Island, has filed for divorce.
The opening day of the Women's World Cup in New Zealand was marred by a deadly shooting in host city Auckland that left two people dead.
The 25-year-old set off a frantic search after she went missing for two days following her 911 call to report that a toddler was wandering on an interstate.
The world is facing record-breaking and historical temperatures. Cheddar News explains.
Consumers are looking to beat the heat in record numbers with sales of air conditioners and inflatable pools soaring to record levels.
Johnson & Johnson will pay $18.8 million to a California man who claims he developed cancer from exposure to the company's baby powder product.
