An armed man who was seen near the Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia, has been identified and charged with trespassing, the Richmond Police Department said in a statement.
The man, identified as 38-year-old Riley O’Shaughnessey, was “spotted on the roof of an unoccupied building overlooking the Lee Monument” on Saturday morning. Witnesses told police he was holding a firearm while on the roof of the building, prompting passersby to call police.
Police arrived at the scene around 7:47 a.m. and planned to enter the building, but found O’Shaughnesseyan outside the building, according to the statement. He was arrested, police said.
O’Shaughnessey was charged with trespassing, a class 1 misdemeanor. He was armed with a handgun when he was arrested but was lawfully carrying the gun, so he was not charged with weapons offenses.
According to the statement, he is employed at the Richmond International Airport Police Department as an officer, but was not carrying any law enforcement identification at the time of his arrest.
During the investigation, Richmond police told the public to avoid the area around 1805 Monument Avenue in a post on Twitter.
The building O’Shaughnessey was in was also searched for any other dangers, but police did not find anything. The building and the area around the monument were opened again at 10 a.m. An investigation is still ongoing, police said.
