Congressional staffer with gun in bag causes brief lockdown

By MICHAEL BALSAMO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Capitol Police arrested a congressional staffer on Thursday after he walked into a legislative building with a gun in his bag. The incident led to a brief lockdown in a Capitol Hill complex that’s still on edge nearly a year after a deadly insurrection. Police say the 57-year-old staffer, Jeffrey Allsbrooks, was taken into custody about four minutes after he entered the Longworth House Office Building. They say officers stationed at a security checkpoint at one of the building’s doors “spotted an image of a handgun in a bag on the X–ray screen.” Officers tracked down Allsbrooks, who works in the office of the House Chief Administrative Officer. They say he told them he forgot the gun was in his bag.