UPDATE (6/12 4:45 p.m.): Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said on Twitter that the unnamed suspect told one of her officers he wanted to harm the Pride event after he was arrested.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that a man near L.A. Pride, who told police officers that he was going to the festival to look for a friend, was arrested after a search of his car turned up possible explosives as well as weapons and ammunition.
From the article:
Federal and local law enforcement decided against canceling the annual parade, which went forward Sunday morning under tightened security. Investigators are now trying to piece together what happened but said they don’t believe their is any connection between the incident and the massacre at a gay bar in Orlando that killed 50 people overnight.
Early Sunday,  Santa Monica police received a call of a suspected prowler near Olympic Boulevard and 11th Street. Patrol officers responded and encountered an individual who told officers he was waiting for a friend. That led officers to inspect the car and find several weapons and a lot of ammunition as well as tannerite, an ingredient that could be used to create a pipe bomb.
The car had Indiana plates, and law enforcement sources said the man arrested was white.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials said the suspect told police he was going to the pride parade to look for a friend. Authorities are now looking for that individual.
Neighbors called police after he was spotted loitering and knocking on doors in the area.
There is no known connection to the shooting in Orlando, which took place in the early hours of Sunday morning at the LGBT nightclub Pulse.
Police are stating that they are not sure of the man’s intentions at this point.
A source told The Los Angeles Times, on the condition of anonymity, that officials discussed calling off the parade.
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