|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A man carrying a knife broke into the White House hours after Barack
Obama had left, in one of the biggest breaches of US presidential
security in years.
Omar Gonzalez, 42, was charged with unlawfully entering a restricted
area while carrying a "deadly or dangerous weapon", according to an
affidavit released by the US attorney's office on Saturday.
Gonzalez scaled a fence on Friday local time and was carrying a
folding knife with a 9cm serrated blade, according to the secret
service who was in charge of White House security.
The incident is one of the most significant breaches at the White
House since Obama became president. The complex is a heavily guarded
by secret service agents, snipers and surveillance equipment.
Shortly before the intrusion, Obama and his daughters had departed for
Camp David. His wife, Michelle Obama, had travelled separately to the
presidential retreat in nearby Maryland.
"Every day the Secret Service is challenged to ensure security at the
White House complex while still allowing public accessibility to a
national historical site," the agency said in a statement.
"Although last night the officers showed tremendous restraint and
discipline in dealing with this subject, the location of Gonzalez's
arrest is not acceptable."
In October last year, Miriam Carey, 34, of Connecticut, was shot dead
in a police chase after she drove her car into a barrier at the White
House. Her young daughter was in that car at the time.
Credit: Aljazeera
