U.S.

Report Says Secret Service Botched 2011 White House Attack

Shots were fired at the White House in 2011, and a new Washington Post article claims it took the Secret Service four days to notice.

Report Says Secret Service Botched 2011 White House Attack
Getty Images / Chip Somodevilla
SMS

The Secret Service has been under the microscope since an intruder managed to jump the White House fence and run inside earlier this month.

Now, The Washington Post has uncovered new details about a 2011 White House shooting that seems to show a pattern of the Secret Service dropping the ball.

The article describes how a gunman shot at least seven rounds at the White House, with several bullets striking the presidential residence, but the Secret Service brushed the noise off as sounds from a construction vehicle nearby. 

It wasn't until four days later, when a housekeeper noticed broken glass and some cement on the floor, that the agency noticed the White House had been shot.

Eventually, it was found that Oscar Ortega-Hernandez had fired at the building from his vehicle. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The Post's reporter, Carol Leonnig, has been looking into the Secret Service, interviewing agents and reviewing government documents, and she's uncovered some disturbing facts about White House security.

An earlier report centered on Secret Service exercise from the 1990s found that the White House grounds could be compromised by "six to eight attackers climbing the fence at the same time." More than a decade later, that vulnerability still exists.

In light of this month's fence jumper and these earlier reports, many are now calling for the Secret Service to undergo reform, saying these incidents prove how mismanaged the agency truly is. 

FOX NEWS: "Another black eye for the secret service. Wait until you hear how long it took agents to find out someone fired multiple shots at the white house. Here's a hint, a maid had to tell them."

CNN: "This was specifically at the White House and the Secret Service missed it."

MSNBC: "There are questions and have been questions and concerns about the leaders at the agency."

Congress is meeting this week to discuss the Secret Service and to hear from its leadership.

This video includes images from Getty Images and the U.S. Park Police.