Police arrest man who ran toward the US Capitol building holding a shotgun

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, D.C., arrested an 18-year-old man Tuesday after he ran from his vehicle toward the west side of the Capitol Building armed with a shotgun.

Capital Police Chief Michael Sullivan said the unidentified man parked a Mercedes SUV near the Capitol, got out and ran “several hundred yards” toward the building before officers intercepted him and ordered him to the ground.

Speaking at a press conference following the arrest, Sullivan said the gunman was wearing a tactical vest and gloves and had a Kevlar helmet and gas mask in the vehicle. The shotgun was loaded and he had additional rounds on him, the chief said.

Sullivan said the motive was under investigation, including whether members of Congress were the target. Congress is not in session.

Sullivan said the department has video footage, but he asked the public for any footage they might have of the incident.

“Who knows what would have happened if we wouldn’t have officers standing here?” the chief said, adding that the department had run active shooter drills in almost the identical spot in recent months.

Sullivan said the young man was not known to authorities and described him as not being from the area. The chief said the vehicle was not registered to the suspect, who has multiple addresses.

There have been incidents at the Capitol in recent years, including a Capitol Police arrest in 2023 where an Atlanta man armed with a rifle was spotted in a park near the Senate.

Tuesday’s arrest comes one week before President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address before Congress. Sullivan said the incident does not change the agency’s plans. “We take the State of the Union very, very seriously,” he said.

Crime in Washington is down considerably so far in 2026 from 2025, a year when there was a huge drop-off from the previous year. Trump declared an emergency in the city last August to battle crime, leading to the deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard members as well as thousands of federal law enforcement officers and agents.

The officers and agents are still throughout the city. Last week, a Washington man was killed in an encounter with U.S. Marshals Service members. Authorities said the marshals were responding to a call about a person threatening to kidnap and hurt someone while holding a gun. Washington activists have asked for more transparency in that incident, which is under investigation by the city’s Metropolitan Police.