U.S. Capitol Police say officers arrested a man armed with a loaded shotgun as he ran towards the Capitol building.
Authorities said the man was wearing tactical armor, a vest and had additional shotgun shells on him when police made the arrest. The arrest happened near the West Front of the building shortly after noon local time.
In a post on X, they said the person had “what appears to be a gun” but did not go into detail about what officers found.
Our officers just arrested a person with what appears to be a gun near the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building. Please avoid the area. We will provide more information when new information is confirmed. pic.twitter.com/f9JQPYUq8O
— The U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) February 17, 2026
Investigators didn’t say that he shot the gun and did not report any injuries. The identity of the man was not released but the department will release more information when it can. They did not know a motive at this time.
The incident occurred while most lawmakers were not in the Capitol, as Congress is in recess until Feb. 23.
