Man arrested with gun in backpack near Republican National Convention

A man arrested Monday near a security perimeter of the Republican National Convention had a firearm hidden in a “tactical” backpack, police said.

The arrest occurred around 1 p.m. in the 1200 block of North 11th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee police said in a statement. Police concluded that the 21-year-old man did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, police said.

The arrest site was about two blocks outside the congressional vehicle enforcement area that began on Monday.

Police spotted the man, whose identity authorities had not released as of Tuesday evening, and concluded he looked suspicious, police said.

“Police initially noticed the suspect with a suspicious facial expression; he was wearing a ski mask and carrying a large tactical backpack on the street,” the department said.

The “arrest of the person” was carried out by the US Capitol Police, the Milwaukee police said. The Capitol Police did not answer specific questions about the arrest on Tuesday and referred the investigation to the Milwaukee authorities.

A Milwaukee County spokesman who responded to a request for comment on behalf of the district attorney also referred questions to police.

Police did not answer questions about the type of weapon on Tuesday. “The investigation is ongoing. This is the information we have at this time,” said a Milwaukee police spokesman.

The case was investigated by the local prosecutor’s office.

The arrest came two days after former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. He survived despite saying he was shot in the ear.

On Tuesday, police in Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed a man who allegedly approached another man with two knives with whom he was arguing. The officers were in Milwaukee to help with convention security and gathered about a mile from the RNC venues.