White House briefly on lockdown after car crashes near Lafayette Park
Washington: The White House was briefly placed on lockdown after two separate security incidents occurred near Lafayette Park, just north of the presidential residence.
In one incident, a car drove onto the sidewalk and struck an informational sign, while in the other, an individual jumped a barricade near the park’s northwest corner on Monday (local time).
Video footage posted on social media showed a silver sedan driving onto the sidewalk just north of Lafayette Park, which is located directly north of the White House. The driver was seen struggling with Secret Service officers and National Guard personnel, Xinhua news agency reported.
“The driver was combative with law enforcement but was quickly placed under arrest,” the Secret Service said in a statement, as quoted by NBC Washington. “Around the same time, a second individual jumped a barricade near the northwest corner of Lafayette Park. That individual was also quickly placed under arrest.”
The identities of the two individuals and their motives were not immediately clear.
The White House was placed under lockdown for about half an hour before normal operations resumed.
Earlier on Thursday, a 30-year-old Venezuelan national was arrested near the White House after US Secret Service agents discovered three firearms and ammunition inside a stolen vehicle, with the suspect allegedly telling authorities that voices in his head had instructed him to kill President Donald Trump.
The arrest took place when a US Secret Service officer, conducting a routine patrol near the White House, spotted a suspicious blue Ford F-150 pickup truck parked on Constitution Avenue.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the DC Superior Court, the officer approached the vehicle and asked the man inside whether he was safe and whether he was carrying any weapons.
The suspect, identified as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, reportedly nodded in response to the question about weapons and made a finger-gun gesture.
He subsequently stepped out of the vehicle and communicated with investigators using Google Translate.
During questioning, Guanipa Chrinos reportedly told officers that he had a gun because someone had attempted to kill him with it and that he had taken it away from that person. He also directed investigators towards a brown bag inside the vehicle.
A subsequent search of the stolen pickup truck uncovered an AR-15 rifle, two handguns and ammunition.
According to DHS, the suspect allegedly told officers that voices had instructed him to kill President Trump.