SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- An Indiana man armed with three rifles was arrested in Southern California on Sunday and told police he was headed to a gay-pride parade that annually draws hundreds of thousands of people, authorities said.
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James Wesley Howell, 20, was arrested about 5 a.m. after residents called to report suspicious behavior on the street where he was parked the wrong way in a white sedan, Santa Monica police said in a statement.
When officers arrived, they saw a rifle sitting on the passenger seat of Howell's car, Santa Monica Police Lt. Saul Rodriguez said.
That prompted them to search the car. They found two more rifles, high-capacity magazines and ammunition, and a five-gallon bucket with chemicals that could be used to make an explosive device, police said.
Federal and local law enforcement decided against canceling the annual parade, which went forward Sunday morning under tightened security.
Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks initially said on Twitter that Howell told one of her officers after he was arrested that he wanted "to harm Gay Pride event."
But Rodriguez said later that Howell never said that.
"Unfortunately, she was given incorrect information initially, which indicated that that statement was made," he said.
Howell only said he was going to the event taking place in West Hollywood, about 7 miles away, Seabrooks said. At a news conference Sunday afternoon, police stressed they were still trying to figure out what Howell planned to do with the weapons.
Howell's arrest came as the mass shooting that killed dozens of people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., was still unfolding. Police said they had not found evidence of a connection between the California arrest and the Florida killings.
Police would answer no further questions on Howell, deferring to the FBI, which has taken over the investigation. Indiana State Police Capt. Dave Bursten referred all questions about the investigation to authorities in California.
A Facebook page that is apparently Howell's says he lives in Jeffersonville, Ind., and went to high school in nearby Louisville, Ky. It says he recently left a job as a security guard and that he now works as an auditor at a company that makes air-filtration products.
Howell's friend Joseph Greeson, 18, said Howell's family in Jeffersonville hadn't seen him for days and that his parents had called Greeson's parents looking for him.
Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said Howell told police he was going to the gay-pride parade to look for a friend. Authorities were looking for that person.
The parade began about 10:45 a.m., tempered by the Orlando violence and the Santa Monica arrest.
Emma Samuels, 16, and her friend Nicki Genco-Kamin, 18, were among those attending the parade. They said they felt a sense of worry but wanted to be there.
"That's exactly why we're here, to be like, 'I'm proud of who I am. I don't care if you hate me, I'm going to love myself,'" Samuels said.
"Life is short anyways," Genco-Kamin said. "Spend it being authentic to yourself."
Information for this article was contributed by Christopher Weber, Amanda Lee Myers and Andrew Dalton of The Associated Press; and by Joel Rubin, Hailey Branson-Potts, Zahira Torres, Frank Shyong, Richard Winton and Kate Mather of the Los Angeles Times.
A Section on 06/13/2016