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Armed security guards charged in gun trafficking ring
Five people, including two D.C. special police officers, have been indicted in an interstate gun trafficking ring from North Carolina the District. One of the charged security officers previously worked under contract with D.C. Public Schools
WASHINGTON - Five people have been arrested and charged with trafficking dozens of guns up and down the East Coast, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday, including two special police officers who were licensed in D.C., and one who had previously contracted with D.C. Public Schools.
Five arrested in federal gun trafficking case
What we know:
Federal agents arrested five people allegedly connected to the smuggling operation on Tuesday — four in Maryland and one in North Carolina.
The group is accused of moving approximately 40 guns from North Carolina up and down the East Coast, including to D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey, as well as internationally to Grenada.
Brian Agee, Arnise Lecresha Young, Frank Rayvone Harris, Antonique Whitaker and Christian Atkinson were all charged in connection with the alleged operation.
Two charged were licensed officers
Dig deeper:
Two of the women arrested on Wednesday, Whitaker and Young, were licensed special police officers in D.C., according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
Whitaker has been licensed as an armed security officer in the District since 2018, and once held a contract as a security officer with D.C. Public Schools from 2022 through 2024, according to the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection.
Young has held a license as an unarmed security officer, also since 2018.
What they're saying:
Pirro commented on Whitaker's connection to local schools Wednesday, saying that she was "outraged."
"I am outraged that one was assigned to a school," she said. "I am outraged that these people are special police officers, and they are in the position of collecting money to further the trafficking of guns, and drugs are intertwined with that."
What we don't know:
If convicted, the five defendants charged Wednesday face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for gun trafficking-related charges, and a maximum of 10 years for charges involving lying to federally licensed weapons dealers.
It's not clear when any of them will be in court next.
FOX 5 DC has reached out to the D.C. Department of Licensing and DCPS for comment, but has not yet heard back.
The Source: Information in this story is from charges announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office, license info from the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, and quotes from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro during a press conference announcing the charges on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026.