Crime

AP: White House Shooter May Have Thought He Was on Mission From God

Details About Oscar Ramiro Ortega Hernandez White House Shooting

Oscar Ortega

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man clad in black who was obsessed with President Barack Obama pulled his car within view of the White House at night and fired shots from an assault rifle, cracking a window of the first family’s living quarters while the president was away, authorities said about their still-developing investigation.

(Update: Suspect charged with attempted assassination)

The U.S. Secret Service found two bullets had hit the White House and agents caught up with Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez in Pennsylvania on Wednesday after a four-day search. Police arrested the 21-year-old Idaho man at a hotel after a desk clerk recognized his picture. Ortega was scheduled to make his first appearance at 2 p.m. Thursday in federal court in Pittsburgh and many questions remained about his motive and background.

Authorities are investigating the man’s mental health and say there are indications he believed attacking the White House was part of a personal mission from God, according to two different law enforcement officials who spoke with The Associated Press. There are also indications the man had become obsessed with Obama and the White House, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Details About Oscar Ramiro Ortega Hernandez White House Shooting

Law enforcement officers photograph a window at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011, as seen from the South Lawn. A bullet hit an exterior window of the White House and was stopped by ballistic glass, the Secret Service said. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Shots were fired at the building Friday night. Agents discovered Tuesday that one of the two bullets hit the exterior and a second cracked a window on the second floor residential level, just behind the rounded portico visible from the south side of the White House.

That bullet was stopped by protective ballistic glass. The window that was hit is in front of the so-called Yellow Oval Room, which is in the middle of the family’s living quarters.

Obama and his wife Michelle were on a trip to California and Hawaii at the time of the shooting. The president has since traveled on to Australia on a nine-day Asia-Pacific tour. The Obamas were in California without daughters Malia and Sasha, but the White House had no immediate comment on the shooting or who may have been home at the time.

Investigators believe Ortega fired the rifle from his vehicle Friday, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation. Gunshots were reported that night on Constitution Avenue about 9:30 p.m. Soon after, U.S. Park Police found an abandoned vehicle, the assault rifle inside it, near a bridge leading out of the nation’s capital to Virginia. The car led investigators to Ortega, and they obtained a warrant for his arrest Sunday, officials said.

This is not the first time the White House has come under attack.

In the last 40 years, the landmark has faced threats ranging from a stolen helicopter that landed on the grounds in 1974 to a man who wielded a sawed-off shotgun on a sidewalk outside in 1984. In 1994 alone, there were five threats including a plane crash on the lawn and a suspected drive-by shooting. Another man fired at least 29 rounds from a semiautomatic weapon, with 11 striking the White House.

Dan Bongino is a former Secret Service agent who served on the presidential details for Obama and President George W. Bush. He said Friday’s shooting would likely mean tighter security and coordination.

“They do an exhaustive review of their security procedures every time something like this happens,” he said. “Nothing ever works perfectly. They will undress this completely and then they will find out when they rebuild the incident exactly what they could have done better.”

Bongino, who recently left the Secret Service to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland, said it was doubtful that a gunman could strike a target such as the White House from a moving car at the distance investigators suspect he shot. It would require “an incredible amount of training to pull that off,” he said, suggesting it was more likely Ortega stopped his car to fire.

An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing said Ortega used a knockoff of an AK-47. Late Wednesday, however, authorities had not conclusively linked his gun to the rounds found at the White House.

In the days after the gunfire, police distributed photos of Ortega. He had been stopped and questioned Friday morning just across the Potomac River from Washington in Arlington, Va. Arlington police said they stopped him after a report of suspicious behavior but released him after photographing him because they had no reason to make an arrest at that time.

Subsequently, a U.S. Park Police crime bulletin said he was known to have mental health issues.

“Ortega should be considered unstable with violent tendencies,” the bulletin stated.

Ortega was arrested Wednesday afternoon without putting up resistance at a hotel near Indiana, Pa., about 55 miles east of Pittsburgh, the Secret Service said. He was in Pennsylvania State Police custody.

State troopers said Ortega had visited the hotel in recent days, and investigators believed he was back in the area Wednesday. The Secret Service passed out photographs and a desk clerk recognized his picture and stalled him while notifying police.

Ortega is from Idaho Falls, Idaho, and was reported missing Oct. 31 by his family. A message left for Ortega’s mother Wednesday at an Idaho Falls restaurant where she works was not returned. Phone listings for family members in the city were disconnected.

Ortega has an arrest record in three states but has not been linked to any radical organizations, U.S. Park Police have said.

—

Associated Press writers Jessie Bonner in Boise, Idaho, Joe Mandak in Pittsburgh, Kevin Begos in Indiana, Pa., Eric Tucker in New Orleans, Matt Apuzzo in Washington and AP photographer Haraz Ghanbari in Washington contributed to this report.

Comments (123)

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  • barber2
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:15am

    As much as I abhor the current president’s lame governmental over-reach and Far Left anti-capitalism, I take no joy in the mental instability of such a person as Hernandez . Like the political anarchists such unstable threaten the freedoms of all stable Americans, including our leaders of both parties.

    Report Post »  
  • Ghandi was a Republican
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:11am

    I can understand the Confusion- We have a false prophet in the White House..

    Report Post » Ghandi was a Republican  
  • barber2
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:10am

    SCIENCE: Please do not run the old Blame Bush Card again – especially in regard to vacations: Bush went home to his ranch. The Obamas jet around the globe with an entourage at a huge expense to the taxpayer. Apples to oranges.

    Report Post »  
  • NOBALONEY
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:03am

    Accordung to Obama’s standards. Which god?

    Report Post » NOBALONEY  
  • Secessionista
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:58am

    “Subsequently, a U.S. Park Police crime bulletin said he was known to have mental health issues.”

    I too suspected that he was a democrat. Nice to have it confirmed.

    Report Post » Secessionista  
    • barber2
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:18am

      He looks like a guy from an Occupy Camp-In…

      Report Post »  
    • notsofast
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 10:30am

      “he looks like the guy from an occupy camp in.”
      I thought the same thing, matter of fact I think he looks like the guy that got pushed off the ledge by the off duty police man at a bank protest and then later was fighting in the streets over something. MMM wonder how he got the high power rifle. Amazing.

      Report Post »  
    • dtaglione
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 6:58pm

      I liked that comment. “I too suspected that he was a democrat. Nice to have it confirmed.” Made me laugh. Most democrats are crazy. How did they find him in a country full of wackos. If he had stayed with OWS – they would have never found him.

      Report Post »  
  • oddball130
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:58am

    Im really suprised that with this Socialist President, there havent been alot more bullet holes in the White House.

    Report Post » oddball130  
  • jorge_washington
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:55am

    Meanwhile back in Texas, the Teaxas College GOP leader Lauren Pierce twitted;

    “Y’all as tempting as it may be, don’t shoot Obama. We need him to go down in history as the WORST president we’ve EVER had! #2012.”

    She’s got religion, Satan that is. The republicans have been calling President Obama the worse president ever since, well his first year in office, second and third year in office. Of course they’ll just continue saying this all the way through his eighth year in office.

    Outside of Texas comments such as Lauren’s are commonly referred to as “Texas Stupid”.

    Don’t pass false witness on your fellow man.

    How’s taking back your country working out for you?

    Questioning with boldness.

    Report Post »  
    • atechgeek
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:59am

      This is an attack on Christianity. Barack is “nudging” Sharia into our lives. Fight back .. go to Church .. get right with God. This is going to be a long and painful battle.

      Report Post »  
    • Secessionista
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:00am

      Ahh, a bigot graces our presence!

      Report Post » Secessionista  
    • Miyegombo Bayartsogt
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:01am

      Obama has done everything in his power to prove the people who say he is “the worst president ever” right. It‘s about the only job he’s really good at.

      Report Post »  
    • your sensei
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:24am

      Bush remains the worst president ever. And history will make sure he stays there.

      Report Post » your sensei  
    • your sensei
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 10:35am

      Joe .1.2.3.4 . . . You’re right. Bush wasn’t the worst president. Reagan was. He did more to destroy the character of this country than both Bushes combined.

      Report Post » your sensei  
    • James
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 3:18pm

      Jimmy Carter 2.0, let him flaunt that euro trash agenda (social justice) of his somewhere else. And taking back our country is working good, because he now has to run on his accomplishments (all negative BTW) not just “i am a great teleprompter reader that was a community organizer.” Bill Ayers, Reverend Wright (disgusting if he really was a Marine), Solyndra, Fast and Furious, and the list keeps growing…transparent my rear end.

      Report Post » James  
    • Your Sensie
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 5:35pm

      You do know that I control history. As I speak or post I make history up as I go. Don’t try this at home………You might get hurt.

      Report Post » Your Sensie  
  • TDOM
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:54am

    I call BS – he had just left OWS – The liberal idiots in the WH would like to think that a rightwing christian is the only one that could do such a thing – once again I call BS

    Report Post »  
  • sandy21957
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:41am

    One – hyphenated last names of Hispanics is usually a sign of an immigrant. Most who are born here don’t do that. Could he be an illegal?
    Two – check the gun and see if it is one that “Ran” from the Fast and Furious nonsense. See if he has connections with the drug cartels.
    Because they don’t want to admit that Progressives and the OWS group are nothing like the Tea Party, they will always claim mental defect. They are all loons.

    Report Post » sandy21957  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:48am

      Hispanics don’t hyphenate their names as a habit or tradition (excluding the odd feminazi here or there), that’s a bizarre anglo saxon invention from the late 20th century. They have a bajillion names sometimes, which I find humorous and charming in a way, but hyphenated? Haven’t seen that much from the hispanic community.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
  • JLGunner
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:36am

    @ marybeth The obviouse destruction of my country and blatant disregard for my constitution makes barack an enemy.

    Report Post » JLGunner  
    • your sensei
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:39am

      Junior Gunner . . . I think maybe everybody is your enemy, just like this shooter. So I’m coming to your house to take away all your gubs. And your ammo. So the next time you hear your doorbell ring, be prepared to defend your tri-cortnered rights Then again be sure it’s not some Girl Scout selling cookies.

      Report Post » your sensei  
  • ScienceIsNotEvil
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:31am

    Did you get this upset about all the vacations GWB took? He did, after all, take many more than President Obama.

    Report Post »  
    • your sensei
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:18am

      That’s correct, but irrelevant. The truth doesn’t live here.

      Report Post » your sensei  
    • blackhawk132
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 3:54pm

      Is this guy your sensei a guy or a girl.Look at the hair.It’s an Obamaite

      Report Post »  
  • itsmyfirstday
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:27am

    On a mission from God?? not my loving and caring God…

    Report Post » itsmyfirstday  
  • MotoMofo
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:26am

    Four fried chickens…. and a coke.

    Report Post » MotoMofo  
  • momsense
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:14am

    You may hate Obozo’s guts, but this is not a good thing. I lived through dday of the Kennedy murder—it was damn scary.

    Report Post »  
  • marybethelizabeth
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:10am

    Really?

    You just wrote on a public forum that you think the President should be assassinated.
    I hope they lock you up and throw away the key.

    Report Post » marybethelizabeth  
  • marthasusan40
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:09am

    I woke up to this article on the front page of my local newspaper. He was hiding out just a 20 minute ride from my house in Western Pa…I predict that the left will spin it that he was a member of the tea party. Somehow he will be linked to the right….I think he is just plain insane.

    Report Post »  
    • JLGunner
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:27am

      Insane people don’t attempt a crafty get-away.

      Report Post » JLGunner  
  • ares338
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:09am

    He is mistaking himself for “The Blues Brothers”.

    Report Post » ares338  
  • Insuranceman
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:08am

    Why does god only talk to dopes?

    Report Post »  
    • your sensei
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:17am

      Ask Herb Cain.

      Report Post » your sensei  
    • TPartyXpress
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 4:36pm

      @your sensei – Which state do you whore in? I have some ****** libs who’d like to do business with you.

      Report Post » TPartyXpress  
    • Your Sensie
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 5:39pm

      The only thing that talks to me is Satan, and frankly I get tired of hearing him all day and night.

      Report Post » Your Sensie  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:06am

    .
    The Ole “Blame it on Jesus” defence. The White House spin machine in overdrive after they found out this guy was a Democrate…………

    Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  
  • UlyssesP
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:04am

    On a mission from Allah? I can believe that.

    Report Post » UlyssesP  
    • circleDwagons
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:22am

      he‘s one of biden’s footsouldiers … firing the first shots

      Report Post » circleDwagons  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:04am

    No, this happened now for deliberate reasons; one more excuse now for the God complex POTUS to crack down on the 2nd amendment.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • your sensei
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:37am

      REALLY? What legislation has Obama supported that limits your 2nd Amendment rights?

      Report Post » your sensei  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:02am

    Also look at it this way…

    A. The ‘mission from god’ part — Obama sees himself as a living god-complex/figure. So the guy may have been sent by one of the followers/thugs of Obama.

    B. Mr Obama will use this mess to crack down harder upon the 2nd amendment; this is more and more looking to me like one more “wag the dog” scenario.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • wseling
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:21am

      I agree, everything with this administration is staged.

      Report Post »  
    • V-MAN MACE
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:26am

      Everything in the past couple of administrations have been staged.

      I don’t trust the Federal Government AT ALL.

      NONE.

      NADA.

      ZIP.

      ZILCH.

      I trust my God and my guns.

      Report Post » V-MAN MACE  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:02am

    It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
  • ColoradoMaverick
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 7:59am

    He was on a mission from God?? Really? His ragged beard looks much like those worn my Muslim terrorists to me. Don’t try and tie him to God. I’m betting he is a Muslim extremist or has ties with the OWS. That’s just my bet. I guess we will see in time.

    Report Post » ColoradoMaverick  
    • standing4truth
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:27am

      Our radical, Christian hating White House and his administration are of course trying to diffuse this situation from off of the fact that the shooter is a mindless leftist radical occupier and smear the name of God in so doing! But, the God he and they are serving is the little “g” – god, the god of this world – the devil !! It is amazing that statements like this can be made and the main stream, sold out media jumps to print it!

      Report Post »  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on November 17, 2011 at 7:57am

    Why is it when a lefty does this, he’s mentally ill, but when someone from the right does it, they are an ideologue?

    Report Post » Gonzo  
    • Insuranceman
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:04am

      Oh I think they are I’ll

      Report Post »  
    • Locked
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:17am

      A quick Ctrl + F search finds that the only person who called him an ideologue is you. So I guess the better question is why you think he’s an ideologue when no one else has called him such?

      He has a history of mental issues. “Crazy” doesn’t ascribe solely to one party or ideology.

      Report Post »  
    • circleDwagons
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:26am

      bc. the left are mentally unstable …. he was just trying to proof that obama is a god, fast and furious bullets can’t hurt him

      Report Post » circleDwagons  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:28am

      Genius, I called him mentally ill. When they thought the nut job that shot Giffords was from the right, they said it was because of his “Tea Party” leanings. Read much?

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • your sensei
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:35am

      GONZO . . . “Why is it when a lefty does this, he’s mentally ill, but when someone from the right does it, they are an ideologue?”

      Gee, G, I don’t know. Maybe because when some Christian fundamentalist maniac shoots up Norway, you call him mentally ill. But when someone from the left does it he’s an ideologue.

      This is the easy stuff, Gonzo. Don’t waste your time on such zero sum games. Here’s a tip, and it will help here on The Blaze but also out in the world . . . don’t be lazy. Don’t be willfully obtuse. And here’s the biggie, don’t be a dumba$$.

      Report Post » your sensei  
    • your sensei
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 10:33am

      Jose uno dos tres quatro . . . First, I‘m not surprised you’re disclaiming the Norway disciple. Every Christian site did. What choice do you have? In fact that exact passage, written in desperate defense of Christianity, is the duplicated on dozens of sites – a position statement used to propagandize the issue. Second, when you cut and paste entire passages from other people’s writings, you need to attribute it to them.

      Now, Brevik supported: cultural conservatism, ultranationalism, Islamophobia, far-right Zionism, anti-feminism, right-wing populism, paramilitarism, and white nationalism. He was confirmed into the Lutheran Church of Norway at the age of 15. In 2009, he wrote “Today’s Protestant church is a joke . . . I am a supporter of an indirect collective conversion of the Protestant church back to the Catholic.”

      On his Facebook profile, Breivik described himself as a Christian, though he is critical of the Catholic and Protestant churches, objecting to their “current suicidal path”. Before the attacks, he stated an intention to attend Frogner Church in a final “Martyr’s mass”.

      In his manifesto he states he is “100 percent Christian.” He also wrote, “Pope Benedict has abandoned Christianity and all Christian Europeans and is to be considered a cowardly, incompetent, corrupt and illegitimate Pope. It will thus be necessary to overthrow the Protestant and Catholic hierarchies, after which a “Great Christian Congress” would set up a new European

      Report Post » your sensei  
    • your sensei
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 10:58am

      Joe, Joe, Joe . . . I know you don’t like it when one of your Christian brothers shoots up a day camp or gets caught thumping his dolphin behind the podium at a Christian school or does meth with a gay ******, but face it, religion – all religion – breeds and attracts freaks. Like you. Unwilling and unable to think for themselves. By all means, keep cutting and pasting someone else’s thoughts. They’re better than your own.

      Report Post » your sensei  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on November 17, 2011 at 11:20am

      @Joe

      Please understand that Sensei craves attention and when you give him attention, it gives him a cheap thrill. He, like most leftist shills here, disappear after a while if they’re ignored sufficiently. Exceptions of course for the person “Enicom” and all of his incarnations, who blindly posts boilerplate from his little bunker at the direction of his masters.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
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