A security guard at the Family Research Council was shot and wounded in the arm Wednesday morning after a scuffle with a man said to be carrying a Chick-fil-A bag in the lobby of the organization's headquarters in Washington.
The shooter walked into the lobby and was confronted by the security guard, according to The Washington Post. The man had a gun and opened fire at at the guard but the guard and bystanders wrestled him to the ground.
Fox News reported that the case is being treated as a case of "domestic terrorism."
The FBI is investigating and they have the shooter, who received bullet wounds himself, in custody. His identity has not been released, but Fox News said he was "posing as an intern." The name of the guard, whom police are calling a hero, has also not been released.
Fox News said the man, said to be in his 20s, "expressed disagreement with the organization's conservative policy positions," and when the guard asked him where he was going he opened fire. Sources told Fox the man may have been carrying a Chick-fil-A bag and after the guard took his gun said, "Don't shoot me, it was not about you, it was what this place stands for."
“The security guard here is a hero, as far as I’m concerned,” D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said. ”He did his job. The person never made it past the front.”
James McJunkin, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington field office, told The Associated Press it is too early to know a motive for the shooting. ""We don't know enough yet about him . . . or mentally what he's thinking,"
It is unclear if the guard was armed.
The man was led from the building on G Street NW in Washington's Chinatown district in handcuffs. The area, one of the capital's busiest, was teeming with tourists at the time.
ABC News reported that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was on scene trying to trace information about the gun that was used. D.C. Metropolitan Police and the FBI's National Capitol Response Squad were also involved in the investigation.
The Family Research Council is a conservative group that deals with family and faith issues and is led by Council President Tony Perkins. They support pro-life and pro-family issues.
It was founded by James Dobson in the 1980s and believes that homosexuality is a sin. It's mission statement says that marriage can be only between one man and one woman and that marriage and families are "the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society."
“The police are investigating this incident,” said Perkins in a statement. “Our first concern is with our colleague who was shot today. Our concern is for him and his family.”
Perkins was an outspoken defender of Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy's public stand against same-sex marriage, which made the fast-food chain a flashpoint in the nation's culture wars. The Cathy family foundation has funded the Family Research Council.
Perkins has been front and center during the Chick-fil-A controversy. He said Cathy was "taking a bold stand" with his comments.
"Chick-fil-A is a Bible-based, Christian-based business that treats their employees well. They have been attacked in the past about their stand. But they refuse to budge on this matter, and I commend them for what they are doing."
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