A man apparently carrying a knife has been detained outside Parliament House in Canberra after being tasered by police.
Australian Financial Review staff member Elouise Fowler tweeted pictures of the incident around lunchtime Thursday.
Australian Federal Police officers quickly swarmed the area.
In a statement, ACT Policing said there were “no national security concerns” related to the incident.
“Around 12.30pm, ACT Policing and AFP Protection Services Officers attended to a man who was observed to be armed with a knife,” the statement said.
“Attending officers began a de-escalation negotiation process with the man. During the de-escalation negotiation process, the man was tasered as he failed to relinquish the knife. The man has been taken into custody.”
Security in and around Parliament House was beefed up in October following an attack in Canada’s parliamentary precinct.
In September, Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and the President of the Senate Stephen Parry ordered security be increased in the ministerial wing of the building, restricting who can enter the area.
The ministerial wing is home to the offices of Prime Minsiter Tony Abbott and members of his ministry.
Australian Federal Police officers replaced unarmed public servants who provided internal security in September after Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Parliament House had been identified as a potential terror target through “chatter” intercepted by security agencies.
This story first appeared in The Age
Man with knife fighting police at parl house ministerial wing pic.twitter.com/tqGBwg3sR2
— Elouise Fowler (@ElouiseFowler) January 8, 2015
