A shocking revelation has surfaced that three years ago, seven shots were fired at the White House and the Secret Service didn’t know about it for days afterward. INSIDE EDITION has the story.
A shocking revelation has been made that seven gunshots were fired into the White House and the Secret Service didn't know about it until four days later!
Matt Lauer said on the Today show Monday morning, "There are some new questions this morning about the Secret Service and its ability to protect the president."
Evy Poumpouras is a former Secret Service special agent. She told INSIDE EDITION's Les Trent, "There are lapses and people are correct in wanting to know what happened. It is a major concern. You shouldn't have such a delay.
Watch More of INSIDE EDITION's Interview with Poumpouras
The story, first revealed in The Washington Post, comes in the wake of that frightening incident just 10 days ago when an intruder with a knife climbed the fence and actually entered the White House through the unlocked front door.
Here's what we know about the 2011 shooting: the shooter, Oscar Ortega-Hernandez, parked about a quarter mile away from the White House when he opened fire with his semi-automatic weapon.
At the time of the attack, President Obama and Michelle were in San Diego watching a college basketball game on the deck of an Air Force destroyer, but their younger daughter, Sasha, along with her grandmother, Marion Robinson were home. Malia was out for the evening but was expected back any moment.
Incredibly, a supervisor initially chalked up the sound of multiple gunshots to a construction vehicle backfiring, announcing over the radio, "No shots have been fired. Stand down." Later that night, the Secret Service changed their theory to gang members engaged in a gunfight.
Poumpouras said, “What they didn't realize was that at such a distance when those shots were fired they could actually reach the edifice of the White House.”
The bullet holes and a broken window were discovered by a housekeeper cleaning the Truman Balcony.
Poumpouras said, “Those rounds, when you think about it, they're really, really small. So it actually penetrated parts of the White House but they weren't able to find them.”
So, how did the First Lady learn about the shooting? Not from the Secret Service. She was told by Reginald Dickson, a White House usher. Both she and the president were reportedly furious.
Author Ron Kessler told CNN the Secret Service failures put the president at risk, saying, "The agents I talked to say it is a miracle there has not been an assassination so far."
