Man tried to enter Cape May’s U.S. Coast Guard Training Center with guns, body armor

A North Carolina man has been charged with trying to bring an assault weapon, body armor and hollow-point bullets into a U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in New Jersey.

Dustin A. Peters, 25, of Wilmington, went to the facility in Cape May to attend a graduation ceremony on Thursday, authorities said.

The bullets were found during a routine vehicle search, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. As authorities undertook additional security protocols, they later found the assault weapon, a handgun, body armor, and many rounds of ammunition, the statement said.

The Coast Guard said it did not consider Peters a threat to the center or the local community. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was assisting in the case due to the types of weapons and ammunition found and that the incident occurred at a military base.

Peters was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of a machine gun, possession of an assault firearm, possession of prohibited weapon, possession of hollow-point ammunition, and 10 counts of possession of high capacity ammunition magazines.

He was being held Friday at the Cape May County Jail pending a court hearing. It was not immediately clear if he was represented by an attorney.

The investigation was a joint effort of the Cape May Police Department, Coast Guard Police Department, Coast Guard Investigative Services, Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.