Man with loaded gun arrested near White House

A man with a loaded firearm was arrested near the White House grounds early Tuesday morning by agents investigating a suspicious vehicle, the Secret Service said.

In a statement, a spokesman for the agency said that explosive ordinance personnel were called to the scene to clear the vehicle after the suspect was arrested at approximately 2:30 a.m.

“Secret Service Uniformed Division officers were alerted to a suspicious vehicle in the vicinity of the White House complex. During their investigation Officers discovered the operator of the vehicle was in possession of a loaded firearm,” Secret Service spokesman Shawn Holtzclaw wrote in an email.

{mosads}”Explosive ordnance disposal personnel from the Metropolitan Police Department were called to the scene to assist and declared the previously occupied vehicle safe,” he added.

“The operator of the vehicle was arrested and charged with Carrying a Pistol Without a License, Possession of an Unregistered Firearm, and Possession of Unregistered Ammunition.”

Tuesday morning’s arrest follows a number of security incidents in and around the White House grounds in recent months.

Last November, agents arrested a man on Pennsylvania Avenue who allegedly traveled to Washington, D.C., from Dallas after threatening to kill “all white police”  at the White House.

Another man was arrested the month before for jumping a White House barrier, and police investigated a “suspicious package” found at the scene.