Police arrest suspect in White House shooting

US officials arrest 21-year-old man thought to be linked with an alleged shooting on the White House on Friday.

Oscar Ortega-Hernandez
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 The secret service said it discovered bullet holes at the White House on Tuesday [GALLO/GETTY]

Police have arrested a 21-year-old man suspected of shooting at the White House last week, after federal agents found two bullets that had hit the mansion, including one that struck a window.

Oscar Ortega-Hernandez was picked up by state troopers on Wednesday at a hotel near Indiana, Pennsylvania, about four hours driving time from Washington, the US secret service said.

Ortega-Hernandez was believed to be connected to Friday’s shooting after items found in an abandoned vehicle near the scene allegedly linked him to the incident, said sergeant David Schlosser, US park police spokesman.

The secret service was earlier on Wednesday investigating whether the bullets were connected to reports of shots fired on Friday night while Barack Obama, the US president, was attending a basketball game in San Diego before heading to Hawaii for the APEC summit of Asia-Pacific regional leaders.

The secret service said it discovered the bullet holes on Tuesday and that the bullet that hit the window was stopped by ballistic glass.

The location of the second bullet was not disclosed by the secret service, that stated only that the bullet “was found on the exterior of the White House”.

Shots fired

Secret service agents heard shots fired on the street, south of the president’s residence, on Friday.

Previously, authorities had said the White House did not appear to have been targeted.

Two cars were seen racing away from that scene. One of those vehicles was later found abandoned nearby with a
semi-automatic rifle on board.

Police also found an abandoned car Friday night near the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge that crosses the Potomac River to Virginia.

Ortega-Hernandezhad been reported missing on October 31 by his family.

He was stopped on Friday by police in Arlington, Virginia, after a citizen called in a report of somebody “circling the area”, said Lieutenant Joe Kantor of the Arlington police department.

Source: News Agencies