A man tried to breach the White House security by leaping over a barrier, leading to US Secret Service officers apprehending him. The incident occurred around 11:30 am local time on Thursday in Washington DC. The man, whose identity remains unknown, scaled a construction bollard near the Treasury Building on the north-east side of the compound, as per a Secret Service spokesperson.
The intruder was swiftly intercepted and taken into custody. During a physical altercation, one officer sustained a minor laceration, and both the officer and the suspect were transported to a nearby hospital for assessment.
According to Secret Service Communications Chief Anthony Guglielmi, the man was swiftly detained by uniformed US Secret Service police officers after leaping over the construction bollard near the Treasury Building on the northeast side of the complex. The confrontation took place near a pedestrian gate, where the man engaged in a physical scuffle before being apprehended. Both the officer and the suspect received medical evaluations for non-life-threatening injuries.
This incident follows a report by the US Secret Service on April 5 regarding shots fired overnight near Lafayette Park, situated across from the White House. Despite an extensive search of the park and its vicinity post-midnight, no injuries were reported, and no suspects were found. President Donald Trump was at the White House during that weekend.
Although White House operations continued as usual, security measures in the vicinity were heightened, with the Secret Service collaborating with the District of Columbia police and US Park Police.
In a similar event in 2014, Omar Gonzalez, an Iraq War veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, breached the White House perimeter by jumping the fence on the Pennsylvania Avenue side and entering the premises before being apprehended by security personnel.
