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SALT LAKE CITY -- Federal agents have intensified their investigation of a man they believe fired shots at the White House. That man is from Idaho Falls, and first told his family he was coming to Utah.
"We've been very busy with this case today," said Joelyn Hansen, public information officer with the Idaho Falls Police Department. She says their police officers have been working with federal investigators on the case since Friday.
Investigators say 21-year-old Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez could face charges as serious as attempted assassination. Secret Service agents found at least two bullets that hit the White House. The shots were fired Friday, but not discovered until Tuesday. No one was injured, and President Barack Obama was not at home at the time.
There's new information tonight from NBC's Telemundo Spanish News Network, saying Ortega's father told the news network his son was obsessed with the date 11-11-11. Ortega believed the world might end on that day, and that's when the shooting happened.
As investigators scoured the White House today for any other possible rifle rounds, police in Idaho Falls answered questions about Ortega.
"We have had a lot of inquiries," said Hansen. "I've taken a lot of phone calls."
She says Ortega's family filed a missing persons report Oct. 31.
"I think they were just concerned about his welfare. They hadn't heard from him," said the public information officer.
He told his family he was headed to Utah, but on Nov. 11, police in Arlington, Va., told police in Idaho they'd found Ortega.
"At that point, they said that he was fine, he was OK," Hansen said. "They said he had money. We didn't have anything that would hold him."
That night, one rifle round hit a bullet-proof window on the third floor Truman Balcony of the White House near the family living quarters. Another round also hit the building, but investigators have not disclosed the location.
Investigators think the shots were fired around 9 p.m. by the driver of a speeding car from about a half-mile away.
That distance, nearly eight football fields, is around the limit of the useful range for an AK-47 style assault rifle.
Minutes after the shooting, police found Ortega's wrecked vehicle. Inside, they found an assault rifle registered in his name and several spent rounds.
Ortega was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a hotel near Indiana, Pa., some 55 miles east of Pittsburgh, the Secret Service said. He was in Pennsylvania State Police custody. A tip from someone who saw and identified Ortega led to his arrest, Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie said.
KSL found records of Ortega involved in minor crimes in Idaho and Utah. Authorities are investigating his mental health and say there are indications he believed his attack on the White House was part of a personal mission from God, according to a law enforcement official.
The Secret Service says Ortega had a "direction of interest toward the president and the White House."
Right now Ortega faces only gun charges, but the case continues, and Idaho Falls Police say they will keep working with federal agents.
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Story written by Jed Boal with contributions from The Associated Press.
