D.C. police and the Secret Service on Wednesday detained a man from Texas on charges he was carrying a rifle and ammunition outside the official residence of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Police said in a statement that they arrested Paul Murray, 31, of San Antonio, Texas, at about 12:15 p.m. after he had been detained by the Secret Service on the 3400 block of Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, the site of the Naval Observatory where the vice president’s residence is located.
Murray told police that he was looking for help and wanted to talk to the president.
Police say they arrested Murray in response to an intelligence bulletin that originated from Texas on March 10.
It said that Murray received a medical discharge from the Army almost a year ago and was prescribed medication, but stopped taking it due to what he called “intense” side effects.
He also said he wasn’t getting the support he needed from Veterans Affairs and mentioned he owned an AR-15 rifle.
On March 12, a mental health warrant for Murray was issued by the Brazos County Court in Texas. According to the affidavit for the warrant, it stated that he “thinks he is going to be murdered” and believes he is being followed by “possibly the government.”
Murray told police earlier this month he believes he was attacked by a group overseas and that he didn’t want to hurt himself, but might hurt someone else “if it was justified.”
On Tuesday, Murray’s mom told police officials in Brazos County that her son was in D.C. and planned to “take care of his problem.”
When arrested, Murray had an AR-15, 113 rounds of ammunition and five magazines.
He has been charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of unregistered ammunition and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.
Police said a rifle and ammunition were recovered from Murray’s vehicle. Murray did not have a valid permit to carry a gun in D.C.
Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, had been living at Blair House, a guest home for the White House, while the vice president’s residence was undergoing some renovations and have yet to move in.
WTOP’s Luke Garrett and Hannah Parker and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
