Photos: Three Detained After Officers Respond to 'Suspicious Vehicle' Near US Capitol Building
20:50 GMT 19.10.2022 (Updated: 00:54 GMT 20.10.2022)
© CHIP SOMODEVILLA
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Capitol Police (USCP) announced on Wednesday that three individuals had been detained amid an ongoing investigation into a "suspicious vehicle" in the vicinity of the Capitol building. An all-clear has since been given by police.
A Fox News correspondent earlier said that a police service dog had picked up a trace of something in the vehicle, adding that there was a concern about the presence of weapons in the vehicle.
Local media outlets have reported that the vehicle in question was a white transit van that had been parked illegally on the Capitol campus, an area in the nation's capital that prohibits all weapons on civilians.
It has since been revealed that after officers approached the van, one man inside the vehicle admitted that the group had two handguns and one shotgun in their possession. At present, it is believed that the individuals may be hit with weapons charges; however, police have yet to confirm.
Lot of police and fire vehicles down East Capitol street, almost to 6th street. Capitol Police have said there is a suspicious vehicle by the Supreme Court pic.twitter.com/nwyDz5TZ1x
— Haley Byrd Wilt 🌻 (@byrdinator) October 19, 2022
A release issued by the USCP later identified the driver of the vehicle as 80-year-old Tony H. Payne, of Tunnel Hill, Georgia. In light of bringing firearms to the prohibited area, Payne was charged for the offense.
The two other individuals in the car, an unidentified woman and man, were not officially arrested over the matter; however, the pair were momentarily detained by officials. The trio had initially informed police that they were in the city to deliver documents to the US Supreme Court.
At least one person is in handcuffs and speaking to USCP officers at the corner of E Capitol and 3rd St NE.
— Chris Cioffi (@ReporterCioffi) October 19, 2022
The police tweeted they were investigating a suspicious vehicle nearby. https://t.co/ktpgFRQjkV pic.twitter.com/bza20v9xVl
The public had been urged to stay away from the area of the 100 block of East Capitol Street, as police shuttered nearby roadways.
The development comes a few hours after a suspicious package was reported at or near the US Department of Energy in Germantown, Maryland, some 40 minutes from the US Capitol Building.
