WASHINGTON — D.C. police and Secret Service agents were called to the Cuban Embassy after a shooting early Thursday morning.
Secret Service officers were called around 2:15 a.m. to the 2600 block of 16th Street NW D.C., where the embassy is located, on reports of a shooting, the Secret Service confirmed.
Officers arrived to find a suspect with a assault-style rifle, D.C. police confirm.
The alleged gunman, 42-year-old Alexander Alazo of Aubrey, Texas, was arrested and charged with Assault with Intent to Kill. He was arrested without incident, police said. Secret Service officials said Alazo was arrested for being in possession of an unregistered firearm, as well as unregistered ammunition, assault with the intent to kill, and possession of a high capacity feed device.
No injuries were reported, officials said.
Authorities said the initial investigation shows Alazo shooting towards the embassy, authorities said. The motives for the shooting were unclear.
Officers were at the scene and surrounded a red car there with crime scene tape. Secret Service agents had dogs look through the car. It's unclear how the vehicle was involved in the incident.
Roads in the area were closed for several hours while authorities investigated. MPD reported just before 5:40 a.m. that the police activity in the 2600 block of 16th Street, NW, between Fuller and Euclid Streets has been cleared, and all travel lanes are now open to traffic.
Secret Service is in charge of investigation.
The Secret Service released a statement just after 7 a.m. on the incident that read in part:
"The incident did not impact Secret Service protective operations. As a matter of practice, the agency does not comment on on-going investigations. The Secret Service is working with appropriate partner law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident."
The Cuban embassy released the following statement, translated from Spanish.
"In the early hours of today, Thursday, April 30, 2020, an unknown individual shot with a firearm at the building of the Cuban Embassy in the United States. There was no damage to the mission's personnel, who are safe and protected, but there was material damage to the building resulting from the impact of the shooting.
The individual, whose identity the Cuban government does not have information, was detained by local authorities at the scene and is in custody.
The Cuban diplomatic mission, located in the city of Washington D.C., has a protection and security system to face any threat against personnel and facilities.
The Cuban government awaits the corresponding investigation by the US authorities on the identity and motivations of the author of this aggression, as well as on the circumstances surrounding the act. The State Department is aware of what happened.
It is an obligation of the States to adopt all the appropriate measures to protect the premises of an accredited diplomatic mission in their country against any intrusion or damage and to avoid that the tranquility of the mission is disturbed or its dignity is violated."
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