WASHINGTON — There was a shelter-in-place at the Longworth House Office Building Thursday morning after a Capitol Hill staffer brought a handgun in a bag into the building, U.S. Capitol Police said.
The incident happened around 7:40 a.m. when Longworth Building officers spotted a handgun in a bag that was going through the security x-ray system.
Here is the timeline according to U.S. Capitol Police:
- At 7:43 a.m., Allsbrooks entered the Longworth House office building.
- Security allowed Allsbrooks to walk away with his bag, but four minutes later when reviewing scanner pictures at 7:47 a.m., security put the Longworth building on lockdown.
- After an additional eight minutes, at 7:55 a.m., U.S. Capitol Police officers located Allsbrooks with his bag.
- After questioning, Allsbrooks was arrested at 8:27 a.m.
Jeffrey Allsbrooks, a 57-year-old logistics manager with the House Chief Administrative Office, told officers that he forgot the gun was in the bag.
USCP declared a shelter in place and deemed the incident a "security threat inside the building."
They asked folks to do the following before clearing the incident.
• Move inside your office or the nearest office.
• Take emergency equipment and visitors.
• Close, lock and stay away from external doors and windows.
• If you are in a public space, find a place to hide or seek cover.
• Remain quiet and silence electronics.
• Once you are in a safe location, immediately check in with your OEC.
• No one will be permitted to enter or exit the building until directed by USCP.
• If you are in a building outside of the affected area, remain clear of the police activity.
• Await further direction.
According to D.C. Superior Court documents, officers took Allsbrooks into custody. The documents say crime scene technicians came to the scene and "recovered a black...Glock 19 9mm handgun." Investigators discovered the gun "was loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition in a 15 round magazine," the documents say.
Court documents show Allsbrooks is not licensed to carry a gun in the District. However, according to the documents, Allsbrooks does possess a concealed license to carry from the state of Virginia.
Allsbrooks is being charged with Carrying a Pistol without a License.
Police are continuing to investigate this incident. According to court documents, Allsbrooks was taken to the D.C. Central Cell Block jail. He was released after entering no plea in court Thursday. His next court appearance is in February.
US Capitol Police had no further comment Friday after releasing their updated incident timeline.
WUSA9 asked security experts how it could take four minutes for a security guard to spot a gun in an X-Ray image. One with Capitol Hill experience says it should be quicker than four minutes, but without knowing the foot traffic and bag back up, "it’s hard to make a call."