Capitol Hill staffer arrested for carrying gun into House office building

Washington — A staffer on Capitol Hill was arrested Thursday morning after he allegedly brought a handgun into a House office building, U.S. Capitol Police said.

Officers in the Longworth House Office Building spotted the image of a gun in a bag on an X-ray screen. The bag's owner, identified as 57-year-old Jeffrey Allsbrooks, was tracked down four minutes later and arrested, U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement. He is being charged with carrying a pistol without a license.

Allsbrooks, who works for the House Chief Administrative Office, told officers he forgot the gun was in his bag, according to U.S. Capitol Police. 

It is unclear why officers didn't stop Allsbrooks at the security checkpoint and only later tracked him down. U.S. Capitol Police said the case is under investigation, and the department is trying to find out what happened before, during and after that four-minute timeframe. 

The incident comes after a year of rattling experiences for members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers, who experienced the assault on the Capitol on January 6, followed by multiple security incidents outside the complex. In April, one officer was killed and another injured in a car ramming attack at a street barricade outside the Capitol. In August, police arrested a man who claimed to have explosives outside the Capitol.