World

Secret Service Under Fire After Man Gets Into White House

White House security missed a man who climbed the fence and made it into the the mansion. Now the service is under heavy scrutiny.

Secret Service Under Fire After Man Gets Into White House
Getty Images / Joshua Roberts
SMS

Security at the White House is under some serious scrutiny after a man managed to jump the fence of the north lawn and make it inside what is supposed to be one of the most secure buildings in the world. 

Onlooker Brandon Pawlinkski managed to capture some of the incident on video Friday night. You can clearly see the man running across the White House lawn but can't make out his face. 

CBS: "The suspect was identified as 42-year-old Omar Gonzales from central Texas. He was unarmed when he was arrested and was taken to the hospital complaining of chest pains."

Fox News: "His security breach triggered evacuations. Some staffers and journalist were rushed out the side doors. ... A source confirms there was at least one officer outside the front door with a gun drawn but using his own discretion, decided not to shoot." 

The break in happened literally moments after the president and his daughters left for Camp David. The first lady is also out of town for the weekend so none of them were home at the time. 

Gonzales was reportedly unarmed. Although he was stopped and detained, agents are still combining the grounds for anything that many have been left on the premises. 

CNN: "They want to be sure that this man that jumped the fence didn't drop anything, whether it be a small weapon or... any kind of chemical biological element. ... They want to make sure the area is sterile."

And although no one was hurt, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who chairs the House of Representatives' subpanel on national security oversight, explains this ordeal is far from over for the secret service. USA Today reports he called the incident "totally unacceptable. ... Unfortunately, they are failing to do their job. These are good men and women, but the Secret Service leadership has a lot of questions to answer."

In fact, just over a week ago there was another fence jumper incident. 

NBC : "A man wearing a Pokemon hat and carrying a toy jumped the fence and was immediately arrested. Last month ... a toddler squeezed through the fence causing quite a stir but the all clear was quickly given." 

Those types of incidents have happened hundreds of times in the past, but what's so troubling about this recent fence jumping is that the man made it inside the White House, which is basically unheard of. 

MSNBC: "They need to rethink it. You can't do things the way you've always done them. ... and they can do it. ... The issue here is don't ever make this mistake again. You'll have fence jumpers but they should never reach the residence." 

The Secret Service has said in a statement it is investigating the incident to make sure the proper protocol was followed. It's still not clear what motives Gonzales might have had. 

This video includes an image from Getty Images.