Many of you remember that on November 11, 2011; Oscar Ortega-Hernandez fired shots into the White House, at least seven of which entered the Obamas’ living quarters. Hernandez managed to escape all the way to Indiana, Pennsylvania before being arrested at a hotel there. In September 2013, Hernandez pleaded guilty to charges of using a firearm in a violent crime, damaging the White House and endangering lives; he was sentenced in March to 25 years in federal prison. But according to a frightening article that ran in Sunday’s edition of The Washington Post, the Secret Service botched the initial response to the shooting eight ways to Sunday.
That night, Ortega-Hernandez rolled up on along Constitution Avenue and fired, initially several agents snapped to. The bullets struck near the Truman Balcony on the second-floor terrace. The agent stationed there pulled her handgun and opened the emergency shotgun box. Two snipers on the rooftop started scanning the South Lawn with their rifle scopes. Then, just minutes later, an unbelievable order came from the sergeant in charge–“No shots have been fired. Stand down.” The sergeant chalked up the noise to a backfiring construction vehicle.
Later that night, a wrecked Honda Accord–which is now known to be Ortega-Hernandez’ car–was found near the ramp to the Roosevelt Bridge going toward Virginia. Investigators found a semi-automatic rifle with nine shell casings on the floor and seat. Despite this, after only a cursory inspection for damage, the Secret Service handed the investigation off to the U. S. Park Police, who patrol the grounds near the White House.
While all of this was happening, the First Lady’s mother, Marian Robinson, was waiting up with Sasha for Malia to come home. The president and First Lady had left to spend Veterans Day weekend in Hawaii; President Obama then went to Australia for a state visit. The detail assigned to protect the First Family uses a different frequency from the one guarding the White House grounds, so they didn’t find out about the commotion until later.
By the morning of November 12, the Park Police had initially determined the gunfire came from people firing at each other near the White House. Several agents were certain that the house had been hit, but kept quiet. It was not until the morning of November 15, when a housekeeper and usher discovered a broken window and bullet holes on the second floor, that it was known Ortega-Hernandez had indeed fired at the White House. Had this been found sooner, Ortega-Hernandez could have been arrested as early as the afternoon of November 12, when police in Arlington County got word that he was acting suspiciously in a park. Instead, it took until November 13 to issue a warrant for his arrest on weapons charges–and it was not until the damage in the White House was finally found that the manhunt began in earnest. The delay in assessing the situation allowed Ortega-Hernandez to remain at large until November 16, when he was finally arrested in Pennsylvania. In other words–the Secret Service better count itself extremely lucky that Ortega-Hernandez didn’t harm anyone else that we know of in that time.
Michelle was hopping mad when she learned about the shooting later on November 15, and President Obama was equally furious when he came back to the capital five days later. According to The Post, Michelle was particularly outraged that the Secret Service couldn’t detect the damage sooner, and personally dressed down Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan for his agency’s failure. President Obama, for his part, was not only displeased with how the Secret Service bungled the initial investigation, but was also angry that his wife learned about the shooting from the usher who found the bullet holes, and not her aides.
White House Chief of Staff William Daley said that the Secret Service’s handling of the situation was “not good.” To put it mildly, that’s an understatement. After this, an awful lot of people need to be updating their resumes.
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Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC on Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
