Shooting suspect charged with attempt to kill Obama

Shooting suspect charged with attempt to kill Obama

The 21-year-old man arrested in connection with firing two shots at the White House last week has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Barack Obama, driving 1,800 miles from Idaho in pursuit of his mission.

Documents filed in a federal court said the suspect, Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, drove to Washington with an assault rifle and other weapons after telling people in Idaho Falls that he “needed” to assassinate the president.

A day after his arrest from a hotel near Pittsburgh, the suspect was produced in federal court in Pittsburgh on Thursday. He has been ordered to be held in custody pending proceedings in Washington.

The documents said Ortega-Hernandez referred to Obama as “the anti-Christ” and “the devil” and told associates he “needed to be taken care of”.

In his affidavit, FBI special agent Chris Ormerod said the man had become increasingly agitated against the federal government in recent months.

Ortega-Hernandez, who left Idaho Falls about a month ago, reportedly told his acquaintances that he “needed to kill” Obama and that he “will not stop until it’s done”. According to the affidavit, the man stopped his black Honda near 17th Street and Constitution Avenue, and opened fire through the passenger-side window, using a Romanian-made Cugir SA semiautomatic rifle equipped with a telescopic sight.

At least two motorists witnessed the shooting, Ormerod said in the affidavit, adding that minutes later, the man abandoned the car a few blocks away on the lawn of the United States Institute of Peace. Found in the car were A search several boxes of 7.62x39mm ammunition, three loaded ammunition magazines and nine spent shell casings. It also contained a set of brass knuckles and an aluminum baseball bat.