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Donald Trump raises his fist next to Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16. (Reuters)
A man with an AK-47 and ski mask was arrested near the RNC in Milwaukee. Meanwhile, police shot a man nearby, and Rep. Derrick Van Orden reported an assault
Days after the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, a 21-year-old man was arrested Monday near the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee after being found with an AK-47 pistol and a ski mask. US federal and local law enforcement spotted the suspect approaching the event’s perimeter with a tactical bag, the Fox News reported.
Inside, police discovered the firearm and a full magazine. The man’s intentions remain unclear, and he does not have a concealed weapon license. US media reports said that charges are pending review by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. The arrest is part of a series of security concerns at the RNC in the wake of the recent Trump shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania that shocked the world.
Trump’s failed primary challengers are to take the stage Tuesday at the Republican Party convention, in support of the party’s newly designated US presidential candidate. The unified front comes a day after the ex-president triggered high emotion when entering the convention hall in Milwaukee as he made his first public appearance since surviving a weekend assassination attempt.
Knife-Wielding Man
On Tuesday, a man was shot and killed by police about two miles from the convention site after brandishing a knife. Ohio police officers in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention shot and killed a man who was wielding two knives near the convention.
Five members of the Columbus, Ohio, police department fired on the man, who had a knife in each hand, refused police commands and charged at an unarmed man before police fired, Milwaukee Chief Jeffrey Norman said at a news conference. Two knives were recovered from the scene, Milwaukee’s police chief said Tuesday.
Police released body camera footage that showed officers on bikes talking before one of them said, “He’s got a knife.” Thousands of officers from multiple jurisdictions are in Milwaukee providing additional security for the convention that began Monday and concludes Thursday.
The shooting fueled anger from residents who questioned why out-of-state officers were in their neighbourhood located about a mile from the convention site. The Columbus Division of Police, as well as the chief of staff for Milwaukee’s mayor and a spokesperson for the convention’s joint command center, all said there was nothing to suggest the shooting was related to the convention itself.
(With agency inputs)
