Police said a man with a gun was arrested near the Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill – NBC4 Washington

A man carrying a gun was arrested Tuesday across from Union Station on Capitol Hill, U.S. Capitol Police said.

Someone spotted the man walking around with a “long rifle” in the park next to Delaware Street NE in front of Union Station around 12:30 p.m., police said. Capitol Police said they found the man moments later and ordered him to drop the weapon. Officers then tasered him when he did not comply, police said.

US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said the suspect, 21-year-old Ahmad Lavon Merrill, of Atlanta, is a registered sex offender in Georgia. Paramedics took Merrill to the hospital in an ambulance and he is expected to be OK after the stun gun, police said.

Manger said police still don’t know why he was there with a gun, which he said looked like an AR-15 rifle. Police described the gun as a semi-automatic weapon.

“Based on the limited contact our officers had and the limited conversation with Mr. Merrill, there is some indication that he may be dealing with some mental health issues, but we don’t know that. We don’t know why he was in the park with a gun. He made no statements about why he was here or what he intended.” done. “Again, the investigation is still ongoing,” Merrill said.

Hours after the arrest, bomb technicians were still searching the backpack that police said Merrill was carrying. Officers cleared the park during the investigation.

Officers were seen rushing to the Capitol building as the incident occurred, and others followed. The small park is not far from three Senate office buildings.

Police said they had “no reason to believe there is an ongoing threat.”

Police are not sure how the suspect got to the park, whether it was via public transportation, on foot or by car.

Columbus Circle between Louisiana and Delaware Avenue NE and D Street between Louisiana and Delaware Avenue NE are closed while police investigate.

A man carrying a modified handgun was arrested Sunday after a car crashed into a barricade near the Capitol building, police said. He was released from jail on probation after a previous weapons charge, court documents said.

Stay with News4 for updates on this developing story.