Officials: Man linked to DC-area shootings in 2010
This undated image released by the Leesburg, (Va.) Police Department shows Yonathan Melaku, 22, of Alexandria, Va., after his May 2011 arrest in Loudoun County, Va., charged with four counts of grand larceny. Melaku, a Marine Corps reservist is in custody after authorities detained him in Arlington National Cemetery after closing in the early morning of Friday, June 17, 2011, with a backpack containing suspicious items. The FBI says Welaku joined the Marine Corps Reserves in September 2007 and is currently listed as a lance corporal. (AP Photo/Leesburg Police Department)
ARLINGTON, Va. >> Officials say they have evidence linking a Marine reservist who was detained near the Pentagon last week to the 2010 shootings at several D.C.-area military buildings.
The officials said Wednesday authorities are investigating Yonathan Melaku in the shootings. Melaku was detained Friday after he was spotted carrying a suspicious backpack near the Pentagon containing what initially was feared to be bomb-making material. Authorities said the items were not explosive.
Melaku has not been charged in the shootings, which did not injure anyone. The museum near the Marine Corps Base in Quantico was struck twice and one of the recruiting stations hit was a Marine outfit.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to talk about the investigation.
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