Man With Suitcases Captured at Capitol
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Police on Monday tackled and forcibly dragged away a man dressed in black and carrying two suitcases who had stationed himself in front of the west side of the U.S. Capitol.
The midday incident — which occurred during one of Washington's busiest tourist times, the annual flowering of the cherry blossoms — had forced police to evacuate that side of the Capitol in fear of a possible explosion.
Police, some armed with assault rifles, moved in slowly behind the man, who faced the Capitol from a plaza below its west entrance. Crouching behind the wall, the police sprang up and ran full tilt at the man, who never moved.
He was tackled by two policemen and dragged to an ambulance. Police walked the man away from the scene without putting him in the ambulance. They left the suitcases behind.
Some spectators applauded as police dragged the man away.
Before the standoff ended, Capitol police spokesman Michael Lauer said the man had not said anything to police.
Am I missing something? Where's the rest of this story? Did the police try to talk to him, or did they just assume he was up to no good? If so, why'd they assume? The story says nothing. All we've got so far is that a man with suitcases was tackled and apprehended by police while standing at one of the busiest tourist attractions during one of the busiest times of year three blocks from the Amtrak Station. So far, more signs point to "Non-English-speaking tourist who didn't realize that the hotel will hold your bags after you check-out" than point to "Suicide mission."
Maybe it was his Vietcong-style apparel that did him in.
UPDATE: It turns out that, when confronted by a police officer, the man started demanding to see the President, hence Capitol police treating him as a suspicious person.
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