Political India: Engaging America

Even as Barack and Michele Obama were attending various events in faraway California last week they had little idea that their home at 1600, Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington had come under fire from a hail of bullets.

While initial reports only indicated that shots had been fired in the vicinity of the White House, the Secret Service, charged with protecting the President of the United States, revealed this week that the gunfire had in fact hit a front window of Mr. Obama’s residence.

Two bullets, believed by officials to have been fired from a semi-automatic rifle, were discovered in the premises of the White House of which one was said to have hit the “special anti-ballistic glass protecting the building’s interior,” and the second one was found outside the building.

Preliminary investigations suggested an exchange of fire between two vehicles on Constitution Avenue, a short distance from the White House, and an AK-47 rifle was found in an abandoned vehicle on Friday night.

The only person named in connection with the incident thus far was Oscar Ortega-Hernandez (21), for whom Park Police spokesman David Schlosser said an arrest warrant had been issued on the charge of carrying a dangerous weapon.

Media reports said that earlier in the day Mr. Ortega was pulled over by police in neighbouring Virginia “after behaving suspiciously”. Police photographs of Mr. Ortega from that time were said to include “an image showing one of his tattoos: the word Israel written on his neck”, according to reports.

The right to carry guns is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment but it has been a source of contention in the District of Columbia. While Washington DC has enacted a number of gun control laws in the past a June 2008 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court held that the city’s handgun ban violated the Second Amendment. However laws requiring firearm registration, the city’s assault weapon ban and the prohibition on carrying guns openly or concealed are still very much in place

Labels: 1600, Barack Obama, gunshots fired, Pennsylvania Avenue, Secret Service, White House