White House Shooting Suspect Arrested
BREAKING UPDATE: ABC News tells Local News 8 Oscar Ortega-Hernandez has been arrested.
Ortega-Hernandez was arrested around 10:35 a.m. MT in Indiana, Pennsylvania, the Secret Service said. Agents from the Pittsburgh Field Office said they arrested Ortega-Hernandez in a hotel.
Secret Service agents fanned out across the country in an effort to coordinate with local police. The Secret Service said it received information that Ortega used certain hotels while he was traveling. The agency distributed pictures to the hotels. One of the hotels employees recognized the suspect from those photos, the Secret Service said. The employee called the state police who then arrested Ortega-Hernandez.
He remains in the custody of Pennsylvania State Police.
We are working to learn more information. Refresh this page for updates.
—– Tuesday Night Story: ABC News has learned authorities are increasingly concerned that a man sought in connection with a bizarre shooting incident on the Washington Mall last week may pose a threat to President Obama.
The Secret Service now suspects that a bullet fired in this incident may have hit the White House after a bullet round was found in a White House window, though the round had not yet been conclusively linked to the incident.
Police believe the suspect, Oscar Ramiro Ortega of Idaho Falls, is mentally ill. Local News 8 broke Ortega’s connection to Idaho Falls on Sunday night.
Ortega has an extensive record, ranging from domestic violence to drug charges. Sources say a police investigation has uncovered evidence suggesting Ortega has a fixation on the White House.
At 9:30 p.m. Friday, police received reports of shots fired in the bustling area of 16th street and Constitution Ave.
Authorities would later find a car in the area. The suspect had fled, but what police discovered inside the vehicle left them deeply concerned: an assault style rifle and empty shell casings.
Police linked the car to Ortega and have been hunting him ever since.
It?s unclear whether Ortega is capable of launching a sophisticated attack, but police are still fearful of what he might do next.
Authorities suspect Ortega has been in the area for weeks, coming back and forth to the Washington Mall. Before the shooting, he was detained by local police at an abandoned house. U.S. Park police say Ortega may have spent time blending in with Occupy D.C. protesters.
President Obama, who is currently on a visit to Australia, was not present at the White House at the time of the incident, and in fact has been out of town for the past week. Secret Service officials are not taking any chances with the security of the President and the White House, though, and want Ortega off the street.
