White House shooting suspect arrested

Secret Service officials said they have arrested a 21-year-old Idaho man in connection to a shooting at the White House on Friday evening.

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Using information provided by the Secret Service, Pennsylvania State Police arrested Oscar Ortega at 12:35 p.m., NBC Washington reported.

Law enforcement said Ortega moved into the D.C. area several weeks ago. His family in Idaho Falls, Idaho, had reported him missing on October 31, according to NBC Washington.?

The Secret Service disclosed Wednesday that investigators have recovered two bullet rounds that struck the White House ? one a window and the other the building's exterior.

The rounds may have been fired during a shooting on Friday night near the White House, but the two incidents have not been conclusively connected. Police are intensifying their search for a suspect in the first incident.

Initial police reports said the Friday shooting at around 9 p.m. involved two cars speeding along Constitution Avenue, the wide street south of the White House and the Ellipse. The shots were believed to have been fired from a moving car as it passed along the 1600 block, a little over a third of a mile from the White House, in an area between the White House and the Washington Monument.

No one was hurt. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were out of town on Friday night. The president was attending a basketball game in San Diego, before heading to Hawaii, where he hosted a weekend APEC summit of Asia-Pacific regional leaders.

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The car from which U.S. Park Service police believe the shots were fired was found about seven blocks away, crashed into a barrier, with an assault-type rifle still inside. About 10 shell casings were also found in the car, indicating that the shots were fired from inside the vehicle, NBC News reported.

The car has been traced to Oscar Ramiro Ortega, who has connections to Idaho, Utah, and Texas, authorities said. He is also known by the name Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, according to the Secret Service.

A warrant had been issued for Ortega's arrest, on a charge of carrying a dangerous weapon. It's illegal to possess or discharge a firearm in the District of Columbia.

Now, investigators are looking into whether he was shooting at the White House, and they're now working to determine whether the two rounds found Tuesday came from the weapon that was in his car.

"Damage to an exterior window was discovered at the White House. A round was stopped by ballistic glass behind the historic exterior glass. One additional round has been found on the exterior of the White House," Secret Service officials said.

Nearly all the windows in the White House have bullet-resistant glass behind the original historic windows, and it is a robust building.

Story: Police probe gunfire reported near White House

"Specifically what he was aiming at, or not aiming at, is something that would be better addressed by interviewing him," U.S. Park Police spokesman Sgt. David Schlosser said, according to The Washington Post. "Otherwise, it's just speculation."

Ortega has a criminal record including arrests for domestic violence, drug offenses, assault on a police officer and underage alcohol possession, the Post reported.

Law enforcement has searched for him in the Occupy DC camp at McPherson Square, NBC Washington reported. Park police believe Ortega came to the D.C. area several weeks ago and may still be in the area, the station reported.

Investigators say Ortega has several distinctive tattoos, including several dots on his right hand. He also has the word "Israel" tattooed on the left side of his neck. U.S. Park Police say he also has several other tattoos on his chest and back including the name "Ortega," hands clasped in prayer and rosary beads.

ABC News reported that police believe the suspect is mentally ill. Sources told ABC that investigators have uncovered evidence suggesting he has a fixation on the White House.

NBC's Pete Williams and Brian Mooar, NBC Washington, The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45319372/ns/politics-white_house/

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