Man arrested with weapons, explosive materials wanted to 'harm people' at LA Pride

SANTA MONICA >> Just hours after the worst mass shooting in American history took place inside a Florida gay nightclub, a man whose car was filled with explosive material and weapons was arrested by police early Sunday on his way to the LA Pride parade in West Hollywood.

James Howell, 20, from Indiana, was arrested in the City of Santa Monica and told police he wanted to harm people at the gay pride event, said Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks. A preliminary investigation is continuing, she added.

Howell was arrested for possession of weapons and explosive materials, Seabrooks said. But any relation to the deadly shooting in Orlando was unclear.

• Live Updates: Local and national news coverage of the Orlando nightclub shooting

“Any possible nexus with this individual and the Pride event in West Hollywood is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department news release earlier in the day.

Reporters on scene described a white sedan Acura, parked on the wrong side of a street with its doors open on 11th Street near Michigan Avenue, surrounded by police.

Next to the car was a gas can, some camouflage gear and a backpack. The car had Indiana license plates and was covered with insect debris, as if it had been driven a great distance cross-country.

A Sheriff’s Department alert sent out on social media described the vehicle as containing five pounds of taerite type powder, assault weapons, rifles, and loaded clips taped together, as well as camouflage clothing.

Howell had been spotted by a resident on 11th street, near Olympic Boulevard, prowling around the neighborhood, Seabrooks said. That resident called police.

Heriberto Gomez said he saw Howell exit the Acura, run across the street and hide in bushes about 3 a.m.

• Related Story: 50 dead in Orlando nightclub shooting, worst mass shooting in US history

“He stood there on the sidewalk near the bushes,” Gomez said. “He seen me and we stared at each other for a long minute, and he got a little shooken that I was watching him.”

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agency is assisting the Santa Monica Police Department with their investigation.”

No other information was available from the Santa Monica Police Department.

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More than 3,000 miles away, the FBI was investigating the fatal shooting of 50 people inside an Orlando club called Pulse. Another 53 people were reportedly wounded. The gunman was identified as Omar Saddiqui Mateen, 29.

Mateen had reportedly called 911 to pledge allegiance to Islamic State, before he headed for the nightclub. He was killed in a gunfight with police.

Hours later in West Hollywood, security remained high around Sunday’s festival in West Hollywood, though there were no specific or credible threats received by law enforcement, according to a news release by the Sheriff’s Department.

The parade, part of a two-day aual festival in West Hollywood where 400,000 people were expected, went on as scheduled.

• Related Story: LA Pride Parade organizers say they will march and mou Orlando shooting victims

“Hundreds of uniformed deputies are on-duty to ensure the safety of all those participating in this event,” according to the department’s release. “Out of an abundance of caution, we have enhanced our security presence for the event and have tactical units at the ready to prevent and respond to any circumstances.”

Earlier in the day, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told the crowd that while the pride festival was going forward, it was a difficult time.

“We did not want to be here under these circumstances,” he said. “We’re here as Angelenos, as the LGBTQ community and allies, to say as Americans we will not shrink away, we will not be sullen in our homes, we will not go back in the closets. We are here to march, to celebrate and to mou.”