An Idaho man suspected of firing an assault rifle near the White House was captured Wednesday as federal authorities ramped up their search after finding a bullet hole in the first family’s residence and a spent slug nearby. Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 21, was found and arrested at a motel near Indiana, Pa., shortly after noon after Secret Service agents in Pittsburgh received a tip about the suspect, said Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan.
Ortega was in the custody of Pennsylvania State Police.
The damage to the White House has not conclusively been connected to the Friday night shooting that occurred somewhere between the White House and the Washington Monument. The bullets were discovered Tuesday morning, nearly five days after a gunman discharged an assault rifle in the area.
One bullet was stopped by ballistic glass and another round was found on the White House exterior. Donovan said he could not say where the bullets struck because of the ongoing criminal investigation, but White House authorities were working on the window on the Truman Balcony that overlooks the South Lawn Wednesday morning.
The semi-automatic was fired from about 800 yards in the 1600 block of Constitution Avenue NW, between the Ellipse and the Washington Monument, Secret Service said.
<br/><small><a href=”http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=1600+Constitution+Avenue+NW,+washington,+dc&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.371738,57.392578&vpsrc=0&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=1600+Constitution+Ave+NW,+Washington,+District+of+Columbia+20006&t=m&ll=38.892102,-77.036734&spn=0.013361,0.01708&z=14&iwloc=A” style=”color:#0000FF;text-align:left”>View Larger Map</a></small></div> <p>President Obama was not at the home at the time of the shooting.</p> <p>A task force has been created to investigate the shooting and police are looking for an Idaho man who is wanted in the Friday incident on an arrest warrant for a charge of carrying a dangerous weapon.</p> <p>A source has <a href=”http://abcnews.go.com/US/white-house-shooting-suspect-ramiro-ortega-hernandez-arrested/story?id=14966099#.TsQaTnGYKpI”>told ABC News</a> that the suspect, Ortega-Hernandez, had an obsession with the White House.</p> <p><span>Police said the gun was discharged about 9:30 p.m. Friday while </span>Ortega-Hernandez <span>was </span><span>driving in the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. </span>Ortega-Hernandez <span>fled the scene and the vehicle was abandoned near the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.</span></p> <table style=”float: left; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: aliceblue; padding: 5px 0pt; margin: 5px 15px 5px 0pt; width: 290px; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 12px; border: 1px solid #efe1ab; box-shadow: 5px 5px 5px #cccccc;” border=”0″ cellspacing=”0″ cellpadding=”0″><tbody><tr style=”font-size:14px;line-height:15px;color:darkred;”><td><strong>Examiner Coverage</strong></td></tr><tr style=”font-size:12px;”><td><li><a href=”/blogs/capital-land/2011/11/bullet-hit-white-house”>Secret Service: Bullets struck White House</a> (11-16-11)</li></td></tr><tr style=”font-size:12px;”><td><li><a href=”/local/crime-punishment/2011/11/details-questions-emerge-gunfire-incident-near-white-house”>Details, questions emerge in gunfire incident near White House</a> (11-14-11)</li></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span>Crime scene investigators found a rifle, shell casings and evidence that pointed to Ortega, Schlosser said.</span></p> <p><span>Family and other sources have told police that Ortega arrived in the D.C. area several weeks ago. Schlosser would not say whether Ortega has any anti-government sentiment or political leanings.</span></p> <p><span>U.S. Park Police have questioned protesters in McPherson Square after receiving tips that Ortega had been seen near the Occupy DC campsite, U.S. Park Police Sgt. David Schlosser said. Police were apparently back at the protesters’ campsite on Tuesday night after receiving another tip.</span></p> <p><span>Donovan said the Secret Service is not investigating Occupy DC as part of the shooting investigation.<br/></span></p> <p><span>Ortega’s criminal history in Idaho, Texas and Utah includes arrests for assault of a law enforcement officer, marijuana possession and being a minor in possession of alcohol, Schlosser said.</span></p> <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/mtD4eW1n018″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””/>
