Federal authorities have arrested an Idaho man who deliberately fired at the White House with a semi-automatic rifle. The shooting occurred last Friday around 9 p.m. President Obama was away from the White House on a 9 day trip to Hawaii, Australia and Indonesia.
The Secret Service immediately investigated the gunfire and discovered an abandoned car in the 2300 block on Constitution Avenue. Evidence in the vehicle set off a manhunt for 21-year-old Oscar Ortega-Hernandez.
Secret Service agents arrested Ortega-Hernandez Wednesday afternoon at a Pennsylvania hotel. “On Wednesday afternoon at approximately 12:35 p.m. EST, based on information generated by Secret Service agents from the Pittsburgh Field Office, Pennsylvania State Police Troop A located and arrested Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Herndandez at a hotel near Indiana, Pennsylvania," said Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan. “Ortega-Hernandez is currently in the custody of the Pennsylvania State Police.”
Investigators found two bullets on the south side of the White House on Tuesday. One of the bullets was stopped by a bullet-proof window. The other was found on the White House grounds. Officers are searching for additional bullets.
Ortega-Hernandez was reported missing by his family in Idaho Falls last month. He has a lengthy criminal record that includes arrests for domestic violence, drugs, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
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