Police arrest person with ‘what appears to be a gun’ near Capitol

Police arrested an 18-year-old man who was holding a loaded shotgun as he ran toward the west front of the U.S. Capitol building on Tuesday.

Capitol Police Chief Michael G. Sullivan said the man, later identified as Carter Camacho of Smyrna, Georgia, parked on the 100 block of Maryland Avenue in a white Mercedes SUV, exited with a shotgun and began running toward the Capitol.

“Capitol Police officers observed this individual, challenged him and ordered him to drop the weapon and get on the ground, which he did comply with,” Chief Sullivan said.

He said Mr. Camacho ran “several hundred yards” from his parked vehicle toward the Capitol before police apprehended him.

“We are unaware of a motive at this time,” Chief Sullivan said.

Police said Mr. Camacho was not licensed to carry and that his shotgun was unregistered.

Mr. Camacho had multiple rounds of ammunition and was wearing a tactical-style vest.

A gas mask and helmet were found inside his vehicle.

Most lawmakers, who have seen a rise in threats against them in recent years, are not at the Capitol this week because it is a congressional recess.

Capitol Police first alerted congressional staff at 12:15 p.m. that they were responding to a potential security concern on the lower west terrace of the Capitol and directed them to avoid the area.

Maryland Avenue between First and Third streets SW was closed while police investigated. They gave the all clear at 2:03 p.m.

According to a U.S. Capitol Police report released in January, the department’s Threat Assessment Section investigated a record 14,938 cases last year, an increase of 58% from the 9,474 cases handled in 2024.

In July, police arrested a man outside the Capitol after finding guns and a bow and arrow in his vehicle — one of several incidents of people arrested in or near the Capitol with unauthorized weapons.