Carter Camacho, of Smyrna, Georgia, was arrested Tuesday. He allegedly parked a white Mercedes SUV on the west side of the Capitol at approximately noon. The incident unfolded without gunfire or injuries.
Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said Camacho then exited the vehicle and sprinted several hundred yards toward the building, holding a loaded shotgun, before officers stopped him.
“Who knows what would have happened if we wouldn’t have officers standing here?” Sullivan said at a press conference.
Camacho was dressed in a tactical vest and gloves and had multiple rounds of ammunition. He complied with commands to drop the weapon and lie on the ground. Authorities also found a Kevlar helmet and a gas mask in the SUV.
The motive remains unknown. Congress is presently out of session. Investigators are combing through Camacho’s background. He was not previously known to law enforcement, has multiple addresses, and the vehicle was not registered in his name.
Camacho faces charges including unlawful activities, carrying a rifle without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm, as well as unregistered ammunition, according to a police release.
Sullivan requested that the public submit any videos that could be used to augment footage already held by the department.
The incident comes less than three months after a National Guard member was killed and another wounded in an ambush near the White House.
Last week, U.S. Marshal agents fatally shot a Washington man. Authorities said the Marshals responded to threats of kidnapping and harm involving a gun.
