BRYAN ARMY VETERAN ARRESTED FOR WEAPON POSSESSION NEAR VP’S HOME

  

A Bryan man was arrested near the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. – the traditional home of the U.S. Vice President – on weapons charges, following a tip from College Station and Brazos County authorities.

31-year-old Paul Murray was detained Wednesday by the U.S. Secret Service and arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department.  He was charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of unregistered ammunition, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.

Metropolitan police say they recovered an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of unregistered ammunition and five 30-round magazines from Murray’s vehicle.

College Station police shared an intelligence bulletin with D.C. and federal agencies alerting that Murray could be in the area.  According to the bulletin, he was medically discharged from the U.S. Army in 2014 after serving as a remote UAV drone operator at a base in the United States.  His service began in 2010.

The bulletin stated Murray came to the College Station Police Department lobby on March 1^st and complained he was not getting enough support from Veteran’s Affairs or local police.  He also mentioned he had been prescribed medication, but stopped taking it due to “intense” side effects.

A statement from the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office said the agency had been in contact with Murray over the past two weeks at the request of family members due to his behavior.  The Sheriff’s Office said no criminal violations were found, but it continued to monitor the situation because of “concerning behavior and statements.” Upon learning that he may have been traveling to Washington, D.C., the Sheriff’s Office passed the information along to local and federal law enforcement.

Vice President Kamala Harris is not living at the Naval Observatory at this time, as it is undergoing renovations.