A man with “weapons and other dangerous material” who had plans to go to a major Los Angeles-area pride event has been detained in California. Police and FBI agents stand by to provide security for the 2016 Gay Pride Parade on Sunday in Los Angeles, California. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) The Washington Post reports that authorities in Santa Monica, California detained a “heavily armed” man on Sunday local time, just hours after the mass shooting at Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida in which 50 people were killed and a further 53 wounded. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told a press conference that the man who was detained declared he was “coming to Pride”. According to CBS, Garcetti told reporters “An individual here, we believe completely unrelated (to the Orlando shooting), who said he was coming to Pride who was heavily armed and was apprehended by Santa Monica police department officials in the area last night.” A spokesperson for the Santa Monica Police, Saul Rodriguez told the LA Times that Police were “not aware of what the suspect’s intentions were at this point.” The LA Times reports that the suspect told Los Angeles County Sheriff that he was going to the Pride Parade to look for a friend, the authorities are now looking for this person and the FBI is assisting with the investigation. The FBI say “Out of an abundance of caution, we have enhanced our security presence for the event and have tactical units at the ready to prevent and respond to any circumstances.” “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families of this horrific attack which occurred in Orlando early this morning. “While there are no specific or credible threats received by law enforcement for the greater Los Angeles area, our personnel maintain a heightened state of situational awareness and remain vigilant in the protection of our communities.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 13th June 2016 - 10:21am