2016 White House shooting

Last updated
2016 White House shooting
Location White House, Washington, D.C., United States
Coordinates 38°53′43″N77°02′21″W / 38.8954°N 77.0392°W / 38.8954; -77.0392
DateMay 20, 2016 (2016-05-20)
c. 3:00 p.m. (UTC-5)
Attack type
Shooting
WeaponsFirearm
Deaths0
Injured1 (the perpetrator)
PerpetratorJesse Olivieri

The 2016 White House shooting occurred on May 20, 2016, when Jesse Olivieri attacked the White House security checkpoint. The Secret Service shot and arrested him. After the incident, Secret Service authorities closed the White House for 45 minutes and also blocked nearby streets. Primary investigations showed that there is no connection with terrorists. [1]

Contents

The incident

On the afternoon of May 20, a suspected man with a firearm approached the White House security checkpoint at 17th and E Street. Secret Service agents shot him in the stomach and transported him to George Washington University Hospital. [2] [3] Officer of security forces gave a verbal warning to stop and drop his firearm. David Lacovetti, Secret Service spokesman, said, "when the subject failed to comply with the verbal commands, he was shot once by a secret service agent and taken into custody." Ranjit Singh, the incident witness, explained "white guy" with a gun in his right hand approaching police who were yelling at him to drop it. [2] [3]

After the incident, the Secret Service closed the White House for about 45 minutes. [2] [3] [1] Also, the forces blocked streets between 16th and 17th Streets NW and a mall near the Washington Monument. [4] At the time of the incident, Barack Obama was in Maryland. Vice President Joe Biden was in the White House at that time and was moved to a secure location during the incident. The White House official stated no one was injured at the White House. [2] [3]

Post-arrest investigations

The law enforcement official identified Jesse Olivieri as the White House shooter. He is from Ashland, Pennsylvania and 30 years old. The officials found bullets for a .22 caliber weapon in his car near the incident location. [4] According to primary investigations, there is not any relation with terrorists. [3] [4] [5] Olivieri had a history of mental illness, including paranoid delusions that he was under surveillance, and had been hospitalized twice by his parents, in 2006 and 2009. [6]

Jesse Olivieri pled guilty to impeding federal officers with a dangerous weapon in September 2016, he was sentenced to eight months imprisonment. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Secret Service</span> U.S. federal law enforcement agency

The United States Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and visiting heads of state or government. Until 2003, the Secret Service was part of the Department of the Treasury, as the agency was founded in 1865 to combat the then-widespread counterfeiting of U.S. currency. President Abraham Lincoln signed the legislation on April 14, 1865, just a few hours before he was assassinated. In 1901, the Secret Service was also assigned to presidential protection duties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan</span> 1981 shooting of the U.S. president

On March 30, 1981, President of the United States Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., as he was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton. Hinckley believed the attack would impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he had developed an erotomanic obsession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shootout</span> Combat between two parties using firearms

A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a combat situation between armed parties using guns. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to describe combat situations primarily using firearms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police</span>

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police is the uniformed law enforcement service of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, responsible for the protection of the VA Medical Centers (VAMC) and other facilities such as Outpatient Clinics (OPC) and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) operated by United States Department of Veterans Affairs and its subsidiary components of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), as well as the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Coffelt</span> American police officer (1910–1950)

Leslie William Coffelt was an officer of the White House Police, a branch of the Secret Service, who was killed while successfully defending U.S. President Harry S. Truman against an attempted assassination on November 1, 1950, at Blair House, where the president was living during renovations at the White House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attempted assassination of Harry S. Truman</span> Assassination attempt on U.S. President Truman on 1 November 1950

An assassination attempt on U.S. President Harry S. Truman occurred on November 1, 1950. It was carried out by militant Puerto Rican pro-independence activists Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola while President Harry S. Truman resided at Blair House during the renovation of the White House. Both men were stopped before gaining entry to the house. Torresola mortally wounded White House Police officer Leslie Coffelt, who killed him in return fire. Secret Service agents wounded Collazo. Truman was upstairs in the house and not harmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in the United States</span> Systematic or threatened use of violence to create a general climate of fear

In the United States, a common definition of terrorism is the systematic or threatened use of violence in order to create a general climate of fear to intimidate a population or government and thereby effect political, religious, or ideological change. This article serves as a list and a compilation of acts of terrorism, attempts to commit acts of terrorism, and other such items which pertain to terrorist activities which are engaged in by non-state actors or spies who are acting in the interests of state actors or persons who are acting without the approval of foreign governments within the domestic borders of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Security incidents involving Barack Obama</span> Assassination attempts and threats against the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama

Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, was involved in multiple security incidents, including several assassination threats and plots, starting from when he became a presidential candidate in 2007. Secret Service protection for Obama began after he received a death threat in 2007, while serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois and running for president. This marked the earliest time a candidate received such protection before being nominated. Security was increased early for Obama due to fears of possible assassination attempts by white supremacist or other racist groups or individuals against the first African American major party presidential nominee.

On October 3,2013, in Washington, D.C., United states, Miriam Carey, an American dental hygienist from Stamford, Connecticut, was shot and killed by law enforcement officers after attempting to drive through a White House security checkpoint in her black Infiniti G37 coupe. She struck a U.S. Secret Service officer, and was chased by the Secret Service to the United States Capitol where she was shot five times in the back, including one shot which hit the left side of the back of her head. A young child, Carey's daughter, was found unharmed in the car.

On November 1, 2013, a terrorist attack occurred at around 9:20 a.m. PDT in Terminal 3 of the Los Angeles International Airport. 23-year old Paul Anthony Ciancia opened fire with a rifle, killing a Transportation Security Administration officer and injuring several other people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 White House intrusion</span> Intrusion into the White House

The 2014 White House intrusion occurred on September 19, 2014, when Omar J. Gonzalez, an Iraq War veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, jumped over the White House's fence and entered the building's front door, overpowered a security officer, was stopped by another who was off-duty, then later by multiple security officers, and arrested. He was found to have a small knife in his pocket, and stated that the "atmosphere was collapsing" and he needed to tell the president so that he could alert the public. President Barack Obama and his family were not home at the time of the incident. As a result of this incident and other security breaches at the White House, the then-director of the United States Secret Service, Julia Pierson, resigned from her position on October 1, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 White House shooting</span> Assassination attempt on President Barack Obama, 2011

On November 11, 2011, Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, an unemployed 21-year-old man, fired multiple shots at the White House using a semi-automatic rifle. At least seven bullets hit the second floor. Neither President Barack Obama nor First Lady Michelle Obama were home at the time; the president was not in Washington, D.C., having been on a trip abroad. However, the couple's youngest daughter, Sasha, and the first lady's mother, Marian Shields Robinson, were in the White House. No one was injured. It took four days for the Secret Service to realize that bullets had struck the White House. Michelle Obama learned of the shooting from an usher, then summoned Mark J. Sullivan, director of the Secret Service, to find out why the first family had not been informed.

In the late evening of January 7, 2016, in a sudden attack with no precipitating event, Edward Archer rushed towards and shot Philadelphia police officer Jesse Hartnett while he drove his patrol car, inserting the gun into the window of the car and firing at point blank range. Despite being shot multiple times in the left arm, Hartnett was able to exit his car and shoot the fleeing suspect, Edward Archer. Later in the hospital, Archer claimed he pledged allegiance to ISIS. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the shooting as a terrorist attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Executive Avenue</span>

West Executive Avenue Northwest is a closed street in Washington, D.C., that, as of 2017, functions as a parking lot for persons employed by the Executive Office of the President. It runs adjacent to the White House.

On April 22, 2018, a mass shooting occurred at a Waffle House restaurant in the Antioch neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, when 29-year-old Travis Jeffrey Reinking fatally shot four people and injured two others with an AR-15 style rifle. Another two people were injured by broken glass. Reinking was rushed by an unarmed customer, James Shaw Jr., who wrestled the rifle away and stopped the shooting spree. Reinking was captured on April 23, ending a 34-hour manhunt.

Local protests in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area quickly spread nationwide in more than 2,000 cities and towns, as well as over 60 countries internationally in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. In Minneapolis, destruction of property began on May 26, 2020, with the protests involving vandalism and arson. Demonstrations in many other cities also descended into riots and widespread looting. There was police brutality against protesters and journalists. Property damage estimates resulting from arson, vandalism and looting ranged from $1 to $2 billion, eclipsing the highest inflation adjusted totals for the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of violent incidents at the United States Capitol</span>

The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., became the meeting place of the United States Congress when the building was initially completed in 1800. Since that time, there have been many violent and dangerous incidents, including shootings, fistfights, bombings, poisonings and a major riot.

References

  1. 1 2 Shapiro, Emily; Caplan, David (22 May 2016). "Man Shot by Secret Service Near White House Remains in Critical Condition". abc News. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lartey, Jamiles; Smith, David (21 May 2016). "Secret service shoot armed man at White House security checkpoint". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "White House shooting: Secret Service stops armed man". BBC News. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Hermann, Peter; Williams, Clarence; Nirappil, Fenit (20 May 2016). "Secret Service agent shoots armed man outside White House". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  5. "White House shooting: armed suspect remains in critical condition". The Guardian. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  6. "Armed man who was shot outside white house sentenced to prison". The Washington Post. 4 Oct 2016.
  7. Williams, Pete (4 October 2016). "Man Who Brandished Gun Near White House Gets Eight Month Sentence". NBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2017.