Man arrested with arsenal near Los Angeles gay pride event

Authorities in Santa Monica found possible explosives as well as a cache of weapons and ammunition Sunday in the car of a man who told them he planned to look for a friend at the L.A. Pride festival in West Hollywood, a law enforcement source said.

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, according to a law enforcement source familiar with details of the arrest. That led officers to inspect the car and find several weapons – including three rifles, one of them an “assault rifle” -- and a lot of ammunition as well as tannerite, an ingredient that could be used to create a pipe bomb, said the source.

The car had Indiana plates, and the law enforcement source 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.