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Man Shot Outside White House Refused To Drop Gun; Critically Wounded By Secret Service

By Phyllis Asinyanbi
Published on: 14:13 PST, May 22, 2016

A Secret Service agent shot a man Friday outside the White House after he refused to drop his pistol. The gunman was critically wounded.

The man, reportedly, approached a guard outside the White House and refused to drop his pistol after being asked to do so repeatedly, according to the Washington Post. He continued moving forward and was then shot in the chest.

After the incident, tourists were removed from the area as it became dense with police. They descended on what is known as the security shack, near 17th and E streets NW, which is an area that is accessible to the public. The White House was immediately put on lockdown and Vice President Jo Biden was secured inside. President Obama was not on the premises.

David Iacovetti, Secret Service Deputy Assistant, said the gunman did not enter the White House, and there were no other injuries. Law enforcement found ammunition for a.22-caliber weapon inside the man’s car, which was parked near the scene.

The Secret Service last year added small spikes — or “pencil points” — to the top of the six-foot fence that surrounds the White House complex after a series of incidents in which intruders climbed the fence. Last month, the agency announced a plan to raise the height of the security fence to 11 feet by 2018.

On Saturday, Susan Griffiths, a spokeswoman from George Washington University Hospital, only released information on the man’s condition. She referred other queries to the Secret Service, which declined to answer. A law enforcement official on condition of anonymity identified the White House gunman as Jesse Oliveri of Ashland, Pennsylvania, per ABC News.

Oliveri’s family could not be reached for comment. John Yagielniskie, of Girardville, Pennsylvania, who knew Oliveri for all of his life, commented on Oliver’s commitment to attend North Schuylkill High School’s football games after graduating in 2003, added ABC News.

“He was one of my best friends. We went to football games together. That is messed up. Football season starts, I see him. We go to the games. We always go to the games.”

Cathy Hadesty, who lived near Oliveri, said the police closed off a section of road near the Oliveri home on Friday but reopened it on Saturday. She also said she did not know the alleged gunman personally but thought his family was neighborly.

The most recent breach is not the first since Barack Obama has been president, and some of the lawbreakers have gotten a lot further than Oliveri, the Washington Post also noted. On September 19, 2014, Omar Gonzales made his way over the north fence and into the White House’s East Room. He was brought down by a Secret Service agent who found a knife in the intruder’s pocket. A machete, two hatchets, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were found in his car. The fallout was the forced resignation of Secret Service Director Julia Pierson.

Last November, a college student wearing an American flag made his way over the White House fence while the Obamas were enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday. After this and other incidents, small spikes were added to the top of the fence surrounding the presidential residence. In April, the Secret Service announced a plan to raise the height of the security fence from 6 feet to 11 feet by 2018.

[Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

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