WASHINGTON — A house aide was arrested after trying to go through security with a handgun in his bag at a congressional office building. The aide, identified as Jeffrey Allsbrooks, told police that he forgot the gun was in his bag.
Things escalated there, out of caution, when the U.S. Capitol Police sent out a security alert telling staff to “get inside the nearest office, stay away from external windows, remain quiet and to refrain from entering or exiting the building until given the go-ahead from police.”
Police found the handgun via x-ray as the bag passed through, but didn’t see the image until after Allsbrooks left the screening area. They caught up with him a few minutes later, placing him under arrest.
We’ll assume that Allsbrooks did in fact forget he had the gun in his bag, and follow up with this: If you have dedicated bags for different things that you do, you’ll help to negate any negligence like this from happening. If you’re one to visit the Capitol as part of your job, have a bag for that. And guess what? Guns don’t go in that bag.
Simple measures like this can ensure we’re not bringing firearms into locations that they’re not allowed, and this includes the airport. We cover more stories on such incidents as people are traveling, seemingly saying ‘Whoops!’ when the xray machine shows a gun in their carry-on luggage. It just shouldn’t happen.
