Last week Friday a man in a black sedan drove up to the White House and opened fire on the President’s residence in an attempt to kill him.

21-year old Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez of Idaho Falls, Idaho, has been formally charged with attempting to assassinate Barack Obama or members of his staff. Parked outside the White House around 21h00, Ortega fired several shots at the residence before speeding off. It was later confirmed that two shots had in fact hit the exterior of the building, one even cracking a window.

Ortega was found and arrested on Wednesday (16/11/2011) in Pittsburgh. A short manhunt lead officials to his black Honda Accord with an Idaho license plate, which contained evidence linking him to the crime. Among the items found was a Romanian Cugir SA semiautomatic assault rifle, which had a large scope attached to the top of it, and is believed to be the weapon used in the shooting. Ortega will be taken back to the District of Columbia to face his assassination charges.

The suspect had been reported missing by his family last month, and witness’ reports revealed insights which point to his motivation for the actions.

Besides the one friend who told investigators that Mr. Ortega-Hernandez had said he believed the president was the “Antichrist” and that he needed to kill him, another friend said he stated “President Obama was the problem with the government,” was “the devil,” and that he “needed to be taken care of.” The second friend also said he appeared to be “preparing for something.

During his court appearance in Pittsburgh, Ortega said little other than “yes ma’am” when asked if he understood why he was being taken back to Columbia for trial. If convicted he could face life in prison. Really doesn’t seem worth it seeing as Obama is currently on a tour of the Asia-Pacific region and therefore wasn’t even home at the time of the shooting.

[Source: NY Times/USA Today]