Wednesday 18/February/2026 – 02:50 AM
American police arrested a young man who approached with a hunting weapon from the west side of the Congressional Building in Washington, DC, according to what the Associated Press reported.
Attack on the Congress building
In the same context, the American police announced, at dawn on Wednesday, that they had thwarted an armed attack on the US Capitol in Washington.
US Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said that an 18-year-old young man ran towards the building, which is the headquarters of Congress, carrying a rifle loaded with bullets before the police arrested him without any incidents.
Sullivan added that the young man arrived in a white Mercedes car shortly after noon and parked it near the Capitol building, before getting out of it and running towards the building, before the police ordered him to drop his weapon and the young man responded to the command.
The motives of the young man, who police said was wearing a military jacket and gloves, are not yet clear, confirming that he was also carrying a helmet and gas mask in his car.
The announcement by the US Capitol Police of thwarting an attempted armed attack on the Congressional Building in Washington comes in a highly sensitive security context surrounding the legislative headquarters since the events of its storming on January 6, 2021, which constituted a major turning point in the procedures for securing the building and the surrounding area.
