2023-05-02 22:28:01
LONDON (AP) — London police said they carried out a pre-emptive controlled explosion outside Buckingham Palace late Tuesday after a man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of possession of a weapon.
The Metropolitan Police said officers detained the man after he approached the palace gates and threw what is believed to be shotgun shells into the compound. The person was found with a bag that the police considered suspicious.
“Officers immediately worked to apprehend the man and he has been taken into police custody,” Chief Superintendent Joseph McDonald said in a statement. “There have been no reports of gunshots or injuries among officers or members of the public.”
King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, are not believed to have been inside Buckingham Palace at the time of the arrest. Palace officials declined to comment, saying the incident was a police matter.
Police cordoned off the area Tuesday afternoon. Some agents remained on the scene and the investigation remains open.
The incident occurred days before Charles’s coronation ceremony, which is scheduled for Saturday at Westminster Abbey.
In recent days, Buckingham Palace has seen a lot of activity as tourists and international media have begun to arrive for the coronation, the first to take place in the country since that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
On Saturday, Carlos and Camila will travel in a golden carriage from the palace to Westminster Abbey, where they will be crowned in a ceremony steeped in history. Afterwards, the couple will return to the palace, escorted by a spectacular military procession, finally coming out onto the palace balcony to greet the crowd.
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