As the United States celebrates Gay Pride month, a series of horrific hate crime attacks are underway.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti revealed in a press conference today [Sunday, June 12] an unidentified man was arrested Saturday night in Santa Monica, California while traveling to the Annual Gay Pride Parade in West Hollywood after authorities found weapons, ammunition and possible explosives in his car.
The LAPD received a call about a suspicious man parked on the wrong side of the street and dressed in all camouflage in the area of Olympic Boulevard and 11th street. When authorities arrived to the scene, the man told police he was planning to look for a friend attending the Pride parade in West Hollywood. During the press conference, Garcetti said: “Police, suspicious of the man, checked his car and that is when they found the weapons and explosives…”
According to Fox 11 LA: “Unnamed police officials told the Los Angeles Times there was white explosive powder in the car.” They also said, “Next to the car was a gas can, some camouflage gear and a backpack next to the car [as well as other small items] as police searched the vehicle. Reporters could spot Indiana license plates and it was covered with insect debris, as if it had been recently driven a great distance cross-country.”
According to the Times, there were “three rifles found, one of them being an ‘assault rifle’ — and a lot of ammunition as well as tannerite, an ingredient that could be used to create a pipe bomb.” The LAPD’s findings are very concerning, following the attack on Club Pulse in Florida last night. The West Hollywood Pride Parade will continue as scheduled, with heavy security as well as undercover cops.
There’s no apparent connection between the Florida attack and the suspect found in Santa Monica.
