U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) appeared to express outrage at the state of guns in America after police responded to a report of a man with an AR-15 style weapon walking around Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon.
“Capitol Police said one of its officers spotted the man walking around with a ‘long gun’ in the park alongside Delaware Avenue NE in front of Union Station. Officers commanded him to drop the weapon and tazed him when he didn’t comply, police said,” NBC4 Washington reported. “One police officer told NBC News the suspect had ‘an AR-15.'”
“The suspect was carrying a backpack, which police deemed as suspicious. Officers have cleared the park while they investigate the backpack.”
At 12:59 PM the U.S. Capitol Police posted on social media: “USCP Officers just arrested a man with a gun in the park across from Union Station. At this time we have no reason to believe there is an ongoing threat. We are working to gather more information and will put out more details when they are confirmed.”
The New York Post describes the location as “near office buildings of the US Senate.”
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“The man was carrying an AR-15, had a standoff with an officer and was tasked and arrested, according to two USCP sources,” CQ Roll Call’s Chris Marquette reports.
Senator Murphy, who served in the House before his 2012 election to the U.S. Senate, began his term there just weeks after the massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. 20 six and seven year-olds and six adults were slaughtered. Murphy has been a top leader working to prevent gun violence.
Tuesday afternoon Murphy posted his frustration on social media.
“An AR-15. A guy showed up near the Capitol with a semi automatic military assault rifle today and it’s just like ‘ho hum that’s just America!'”
Just hours earlier on Tuesday Murphy also posted to social media, “I’m headed to the Senate floor right now to talk about the incredibly important case before the Supreme Court right now: U.S. v. Rahimi,” a Second Amendment case.
“This radical Supreme Court is considering invalidating all laws that keep guns from domestic abusers. Just unreal. We need to fight this.”
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