WASHINGTON--The Secret Service is reviewing its response to a
White House security breach after an intruder scaled a fence Friday
and ran through a set of doors into the executive mansion.
A man identified as Omar J. Gonzalez, a 42-year-old from
Copperas Cove, Texas, made it over the White House fence along
Pennsylvania Ave., across the north lawn and just inside the doors
of the North Portico, said Brian Leary, a Secret Service
spokesman.
Mr. Gonzalez was arrested and transported to George Washington
University Hospital for medical evaluation and the incident is
under investigation, the Secret Service said. Mr. Gonzalez was
unarmed.
"The Secret Service will review the response to ensure proper
protocol was followed," Mr. Leary said.
Mr. Gonzalez couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
The first family wasn't at the White House at the time of the
breach. President Barack Obama and his daughters had departed the
complex earlier in the evening for an overnight trip to Camp
David.
But the incident triggered an evacuation of much of the White
House and is forcing the Secret Service, charged with protecting
the president and his family, to review its security
procedures.
Security is always tight around the White House and the grounds
are regularly subject to lockdowns, often because tourists
absent-mindedly leave behind backpacks or other parcels, but also
due to fence-hoppers and object-throwers.
A man was arrested for trying to unlawfully enter the White
House Saturday, less than 24 hours after Mr. Gonzalez made it into
the White House, the Associated Press reported. A Secret Service
spokesman said a man showed up at one of the White House gates on
foot, then showed up in his a car at another gate and pulled into
the vehicle-screening area. He refused to leave and was arrested
for unlawful entry, the AP reported.
Earlier this month, a man wearing a Pikachu hat and carrying a
stuffed doll of the Pokémon character jumped the White House's
north fence. He was quickly stopped by Secret Service officers.
In a more lighthearted incident, a toddler squeezed through the
White House fence last month. Officers were able to quickly able to
return the child to his parents.
A law-enforcement official said that because Pennsylvania Avenue
remains open to pedestrian traffic, fence-jumpers are an occasional
problem.
But Friday's incident raised broader questions about
security.
"The location of arrest at the White House is not acceptable to
the Secret Service and will be closely reviewed," the official
said.
Write to Jeffrey Sparshott at jeffrey.sparshott@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires