WASHINGTON: An internal review of the security lapses that allowed an intruder to scale a fence and enter the White House has revealed a string of Secret Service blunders, reports said.
The New York Times cited a Department of Homeland Security review which said “performance, organisational and technical” failures had allowed Iraq war veteran Omar Gonzalez to evade security and make his way into the building in September.
The review said 42-year-old Gonzalez, who was carrying a knife during the incident, could have been stopped by a Secret Service officer who was supposed to be stationed on the North Lawn with an attack dog.
However, at the time Gonzalez scaled the fence and bolted across the lawn, the officer in question was sitting in his van making a personal call on his cellphone.
Because of this lapse, the attack dog was unable to “lock onto” Gonzalez and “may not have seen” him at all, the review said.
The intrusion was the most serious incident in a string of security lapses involving President Barack Obama, which ultimately led to the resignation of Secret Service director Julia Pierson in October.
Obama and his family had left the White House shortly before the intrusion took place.
The review found authorities had also failed to properly investigate Gonzalez after he had come to the attention of law enforcement months earlier, The Times reported.
Prince William, Kate to visit US in December
LONDON: Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate, who is pregnant with their second child, will make a quick visit to the United States next month which will include a visit to the September 11 memorial in New York City, Kensington Palace said yesterday.
Their son Prince George, who was born last July, will not be going with them on the December 7-9 trip, which will take the couple to New York for the first time.
The son of heir to the throne Prince Charles and his first wife Diana, William will also go to Washington DC to attend an anti-corruption conference on the smuggling of wildlife parts and the illegal ivory trade.
Kate will stay in New York where she will be accompanied by the wife of Mayor Bill de Blasio, Chirlane McCray, on a visit to a local child development centre.
In New York, the couple, known officially since their 2011 wedding as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will also attend a basketball game to promote cooperation between the NBA and organisations in Britain of which they are patrons.
Agencies
