Police arrest man they say tried to enter North Carolina legislature with handgun
RALEIGH, N.C. _ A 36-year-old Raleigh man was arrested at the General Assembly Wednesday after security screeners say they found a handgun and two magazines in his bag.
General Assembly Police Chief Martin Brock said in an interview Friday that this was the first instance of a gun being found during the screening process. Abraham James Zeiger was arrested and charged with one count of carrying a concealed gun and one count of violating legislative building rules.
Brock said Zeiger came into the Legislative Building on Wednesday morning and was asked by the security staff whether he had any firearms in his bag. He told the screeners he wasn't sure, Brock said.
When Zeiger went through the X-ray scanners, Brock said, security saw something that "didn't look right" in the bag so they searched it. They found a 9 mm handgun and two magazines, each loaded with 15 bullets, according to Brock. Because of how the gun was situated in the bag, Brock said, the screeners couldn't tell what it was. They could just tell it was a metal object.
Brock said the incident was a "total surprise" and that Zeiger was not known to the police department.
Zeiger does not have a conceal carry permit.
_The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
