White House intruder was tackled by off-duty Secret Service agent
Source: Washington Post
The man who jumped over the White House fence and sprinted through the main floor of the mansion could have gotten even farther had it not been for an off-duty Secret Service agent who was coincidentally in the house and leaving for the night.
The agent who finally tackled Omar Gonzalez had been serving on the security detail for President Obamas daughters and had just seen the family depart via helicopter minutes earlier. He happened to be walking through the house when chaos broke out and the intruder dashed through the main foyer, according to two people familiar with the incident.
Gonzalez, 42, was the first person in modern memory to jump over the White House fence and get into the mansion, largely the result of a failure of numerous layers of Secret Service security on the northern fence line.
Though the Secret Service initially said that Gonzalez was quickly detained inside the front door, The Washington Post reported Monday that the man actually made it well into the house before he was tackled on the far southern side of the 80-foot-long East Room. Once he burst inside the unlocked front door, Gonzalez, a former Army veteran, overpowered one Secret Service officer and, on his journey, sprinted past a stairway that leads up half a flight to the first familys living quarters.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-intruder-was-tackled-by-off-duty-secret-service-agent/2014/09/30/052fb86c-48b4-11e4-b72e-d60a9229cc10_story.html?wpisrc=nl_buzz&wpmm=1
NBachers
(17,149 posts)FSogol
(45,548 posts)Sheesh, the USSS definitely needs an overhaul.
FarPoint
(12,462 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)This is a very serious breach, in any event.
Judi Lynn
(160,644 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)tiptonic
(765 posts)At least they weren't with hookers this time. Just asleep. (sarcasm)
bpositive
(423 posts)Strange sentence ... Former army veteran... In my opinion, once an Army veteran - always an Army veteran 😄
dawnie51
(959 posts)the adrenaline (drugs?) necessary for jumping that fence, running full speed for over 150-200 yards, barely pausing for a door, etc. This is the length of 2 football fields. He must be a real specimen.
47of74
(18,470 posts)If I was President and something like this happened even if my family wasn't there I personally would throw the Secret Service agents so far, so hard, and so fast out of the White House that they'd leave skid marks when they finally hit the ground. I'd be using language that would peel the paint of the walls.
Nihil
(13,508 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)FSogol
(45,548 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)The off-duty secret service agent was in the right place at the right time fortunately in this case. Next time they might not be so lucky.