An Idaho man suspected of firing an assault rifle near the White House was captured during a ramped up search after Secret Service agents found a bullet hole in the first family’s residence and a spent slug nearby.
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Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 21, was arrested shortly after noon Wednesday at a hotel in southwestern Pennsylvania after the agency received a tip about the suspect, said Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan. Ortega-Hernandez was being held by the Pennsylvania State Police on charges of carrying a dangerous weapon in connection with the Friday gunshots fired near the executive mansion.
The bullets at the White House were discovered Tuesday morning. One bullet was stopped by ballistic glass and another round was found on the White House’s southern exterior. Donovan would not say where the bullets were found, but investigators Wednesday morning were examining a window on the Truman Balcony that overlooks the South Lawn. The window looks into the Yellow Oval Room, which is in the middle of the family’s living quarters, according to the White House website.
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President Obama and the first lady were traveling without their daughters at the time of the Friday shooting. The White House had no comment about the case or who might have been in the building at the time.
Authorities said they have not conclusively connected the bullet damage at the White House to the Friday night shooting.
Ortega-Hernandez’s arrest, Donovan said, was the result of “old-fashioned police work.”
Secret Service agents in Pennsylvania were knocking on doors and handing out photos at businesses and hotels, following leads that Ortega-Hernandez had associates in southwestern Pennsylvania, Donovan said.
On Wednesday morning, Ortega-Hernandez came into the Hampton Inn in Indiana, Pa., and one of the employees recognized him from a handout and called Secret Service agents in the Pittsburgh office. He was arrested without any resistance in the hotel lobby, claiming his innocence, police said.
Authorities would not say whether Ortega-Hernandez has any anti-government sentiment or political leanings.
<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><span class=”BodyCopy”>But a federal law enforcement official told The Washington Examiner that police had learned through interviews that Ortega-Hernandez had an interest in the White House or Obama.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Police said Ortega-Hernanddez arrived in the D.C. area several weeks ago.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>At 9:30 p.m. Friday, a semiautomatic rifle was discharged from a vehicle Ortega-Hernandez was driving, about 750 yards from the White House, between the Ellipse and the Washington Monument.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Ortega-Hernandez drove from the scene and abandoned the vehicle near the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge that connects the District to Virginia.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>U.S. Park Police found a rifle, shell casings and identifying evidence that pointed to Ortega-Hernandez.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Ortega was reported missing Oct. 31 by his family in Idaho Falls. Hours before the shooting, he was stopped by Arlington County police after officers were called for a report of a suspicious person near an abandoned building. Ortega-Hernandez was not arrested, but officers snapped his photo for their records.</span></p> <table style=”float: right; 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>Related 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 class=”BodyCopy”>U.S. Park Police and Secret Service officers have questioned protesters in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza after receiving tips that Ortega-Hernandez had been seen near the Occupy DC campsites, authorities said.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Authorities said they had no evidence that Ortega-Hernandez was part of the Occupy DC movement.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Ortega-Hernandez’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.</span></p> <p><span class=”EndEmailTag” style=”font-style:italic;”><i><a href=”%20mailto:[email protected]%20″>[email protected]</a></i></span></p> <p> </p>
