Man with gun near White House is shot by Secret Service while Obama is away

A man wielding a gun approached the White House on Friday and ignored several orders to drop his weapon, then was shot by a Secret Service agent, touching off a security scramble as the presidential mansion was placed on lockdown for about an hour.

The man, identified by a law enforcement official as Jesse Olivieri of Ashland, Pa., was critically wounded and rushed to a nearby hospital, the Secret Service said in a statement. Investigators were looking into whether Olivieri was trying to lure officers into shooting him in a case of so-called suicide-by-cop, an official said.

President Obama was away golfing at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington. Vice President Joe Biden was in the White House but was safe, according to a White House official.

See more of our top stories on Facebook >>

No one within or associated with the White House was wounded, and everyone on staff was safe and accounted for, an administration official said. Obama was told about what happened during his round of golf.

Witnesses described hearing a shot, followed by guards rushing to secure the White House complex, a mix of government buildings and public park space that on a warm spring day was flooded with tourists.

Akil Patterson, who was visiting the White House with a Baltimore community organization, said he heard a single shot as he was going through screening nearby. “Move, move, move!” he said he heard one of the officers say. Over a radio, he heard: “Shots fired, shots fired, suspect down!”

Inside the White House, members of the press corps were told to take shelter in the basement.

Out in front, Secret Service agents brusquely moved demonstrators and pedestrians out of the way. Philipos Melaku-Bello, an anti-nuclear weapons protester who often spends the night in a tent facing the White House, knew this was not a routine security drill.

“You could tell there was something serious,” said Melaku-Bello, 54, sitting in a wheelchair at the edge of Lafayette Park holding a sign reading, “War is not the answer / give peace a chance.”

NEWSLETTER: Get the day’s top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

Melaku-Bello, who is part of a 31-year-long peace protest in the park in front of the president’s house and offices, didn’t hear the shot or notice anything unusual until an officer approached him to tell him to leave his tent and move. Sometimes the Secret Service and U.S. Park Police let him stay put when they clear the area.

Not this time. “Even you, Philipos,” the officer said.

The shooting was the latest in a string of high-profile security breaches at the White House during Obama’s presidency.

Most significantly, in 2014, a 42-year-old man scaled a fence, ran across the North Lawn past uniformed Secret Service officers and into the White House, before he was finally tackled near the East Room by an agent who was coming off duty.

In 2011, an Idaho man was charged with attempting to assassinate the president after shooting at the White House, damaging a historic exterior glass window above the Truman Balcony on the South Portico.

Friday’s shooting was reminiscent of one at the U.S. Capitol in March, when an armed man was shot after brandishing a weapon and trying to enter the Capitol Visitor Center.

Larry Dawson of Tennessee, who had previously been charged with unlawful conduct on Capitol grounds, was shot by Capitol Police after setting off a metal detector at the entrance and then pointing a weapon at officers, federal officials said at the time.

Times staff writer Brian Bennett contributed to this report.

ALSO

Oklahoma lawmakers pass bill essentially banning abortions

Feds want to ensure coal companies can clean up land they damage

Judge says Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel must testify on police code of silence

Twitter: @mikememoli; @delwilber

UPDATES:

6:10 p.m.: This story was updated with an official identifying the man shot by Secret Service.

3:46 p.m.: This story was updated with details on the investigation.

2:17 p.m.: This story was updated with witness accounts and Secret Service comment.

1:11 p.m.: This story was updated with details on the shooting.

This story was originally published at 1:01 p.m.