A
man caused panic in the White House when he jumped over the fence and
landed inside the premises, AFP reports.
The
intruder, identified as Omar Gonzalez,
reportedly made it into the building before he was stopped. Thankfully, President Barack Obama and his family were not in the
residence as they had supposedly departed minutes earlier for Camp David, the presidential weekend retreat.
However,
the incident still triggered an evacuation as officials and journalists were
rushed out of the building. Secret Service spokesman, Brian Leary said the intruder was 42 years old and from
Texas. Leary added:
"It appeared to responding officers that he
was unarmed, which turned out to be true,"
"Gonzalez ignored the commands of those
officers to stop and ultimately was apprehended by officers just inside the
North Portico doors of the White House."
"Any time someone jumps the fence, there is a
security breach and the Secret Service has to balance security with access and
reasonableness,"
Leary
also reportedly said that Gonzalez was suffering from chest pains and had been
taken to George Washington Hospital for a medical evaluation.
No comments:
Post a Comment