Christopher Wade Briggs, would-be shooter, arrested near White House

A Texas man carrying a loaded pistol, two hunting knives and 200 rounds of ammunition was arrested near the White House on Tuesday, documents filed in D.C. Superior Court reveal. His preliminary court hearing is scheduled for today.

Christopher Wade Briggs, 31, of San Antonio, was detained when a uniformed Secret Service officer saw him pull out a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun from a backpack and attach it to his belt. Briggs, who was shirtless, was lingering in the 700 block of Jackson Place, west of the US President’s home, around 3 p.m.

The court documents said that after Briggs was arrested, he told police, “I was only going to fire a couple of shots if no one confronted me.”

Briggs has been charged with unlawfully carrying a pistol.

In fall 2011, Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez was arrested for firing a rifle at the White House. Some of his bullets hit the building, but no one was hurt.

More from GlobalPost: Bullet fired into White House window found by Secret Service
 

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