WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gunman shot and wounded a guard on Wednesday at the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian lobbying group, and he was taken into FBI custody, authorities said.
The security guard was shot in the arm after confronting the gunman at about 10:45 a.m. in the lobby of the group's headquarters in downtown Washington, a police spokesman said.
Guards wrestled the gunman to the ground and he was taken into Federal Bureau of Investigation custody. The wounded guard was hospitalized and listed in stable condition.
The FBI identified the suspect as Floyd Lee Corkins II, 28, of Herndon, Virginia and said he was being held on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
David Mariner, executive director of a Washington community centre for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people, told local media Corkins had been a volunteer at the centre. The FBI interviewed Mariner about Corkins after the shooting.
"I was shocked to hear that someone who has volunteered with the DC Center could be the cause of such a tragic act of violence," Mariner said in a statement. "No matter the circumstances, we condemn such violence in the strongest terms possible."
The Family Research Council strongly opposes same-sex marriage and abortion, and police thought the shooting might be considered a hate crime, the FBI said.
