If an armed gunman carrying crack cocaine can get into the U.S. Capitol, what could terrorists with a practiced plan do?
Capitol Police say they beefed up patrols last month after lieutenants expressed concerns about security around the Capitol Visitors Center, but 20-year-old Carlos Greene was still able to storm the Capitol on Sept. 18 before civilian employees tackled him in a basement office.
Acting Capitol Police Chief Christopher McGaffin called the breach of security “unacceptable.” It was the worst breach since a gunman killed two police officers in 1998.
In August, Capitol Police lieutenants addressed concerns in the area of the Capitol Visitors Center, an area under heavy renovation and construction, Capitol Police spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider told The Examiner.
Corrective actions were taken, including the addition of foot patrols, Schneider said.
But the deployment of officers in the area that day was improper, Schneider said, and it’s unclear whether the additional officers were on patrol last week during the incident. An officer was supposed to be stationed at the east door into the Rotunda where Greene entered, but wasn’t.
Lawmakers also have said they want to find out what went wrong that allowed the breach to occur and police are reviewing procedures to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Capitol Police Detective Nettie Watts testified at a bond hearing Friday that Greene eluded two officers in his car, ran past a third officer on the Capitol grounds and slipped through the unguarded door into the Rotunda.
Greene, of Silver Spring, ran down four floors to the basement where he assaulted one civilian employee and struggled with another before a third got him in a bear hug, seconds before officers caught up with him, police said.
Greene is being held without bond on a charge of illegally possessing a firearm.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
