An armed Indiana man was arrested in Southern California on Sunday evening. The man, who was carrying assault rifles and chemicals that are used to make explosives, told the police he was headed to the West Hollywood gay pride parade.
The Santa Monica Police department said the arrest of 20-year-old James Wesley Howell, of Jeffersonville, came a few hours after at least 50 people were killed at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, U.S., the Associated Press reported.
Authorities have added that there was no apparent link between the arrest and the deadly mass shooting in Florida.
"The suspect did make an initial statement to the effect that he was going to the pride festival. Beyond that, he did not make any additional statement saying that he was going to do anything further than that. We do not have any additional information related to what his intentions were," Lieutenant Saul Rodriguez of Santa Monica police department told reporters, Reuters reported.
New York on alert
The New York Police Department (NYPD) said it was closely following the developments of the mass shooting and that the police have put on alert.
"So you'll see a lot of additional police presence on the streets of the city, you will see additional police presence in some of the heavy trafficked areas of our city today. You'll see police presence in front of some key LGBT community institutions," Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City, was quoted as saying by CBS New York.
A gunman with assault rifles and pledging loyalty to the Islamic State group killed 50 people during a gay pride celebration at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early on Sunday. This is the deadlist mass shooting in U.S. history. The gunman was later killed by the police.
The 29-year-old gunman, identified as Omar Mateen, a New York-born Florida resident who had a U.S. citizenship, Reuters reported.
