A man who was arrested near a security zone at the Republican National Convention on Monday was hiding a firearm in a “tactical” backpack, police said.
The arrest occurred around 1 p.m. in the 1200 block of North 11th Street, the Milwaukee Police Department said in a statement. Police determined the 21-year-old man did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, the police department said.
The location of the arrest was about two blocks outside the convention’s vehicle screening perimeter, which began on Monday.
Authorities spotted the man, whose identity authorities had not released as of Tuesday night, and determined he appeared suspicious, police said.
“Police initially observed the suspect looking suspicious, wearing a ski mask and a large tactical backpack in the street,” they said.
The “matter stop” was conducted by the U.S. Capitol Police, Milwaukee police said. Capitol Police did not respond to specific questions about the arrest Tuesday and referred inquiries to Milwaukee authorities.
A Milwaukee County spokesman who opened an investigation for the district attorney also referred questions to police.
The police department did not respond to a question Tuesday about the type of weapon involved. “This is an ongoing investigation. This is the information available at this time,” a police spokesperson said.
The case was under analysis by local prosecutors.
The arrest came two days after former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at a Saturday campaign rally in Pennsylvania. He survived after, he said, being shot in the ear.
On Tuesday, police in Columbus, Ohio, shot a man who they said was holding two knives and advancing toward another man with whom he was arguing. The officers were in Milwaukee to help with convention security and gathered about a mile from the convention sites.
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