Alleged Fence Jumper Caught Outside White House

ByJACK DATE ABCNews logo
Thursday, October 23, 2014

An alleged fence jumper was apprehended tonight outside the White House after he scaled the north fence, a Secret Service spokesman told ABC News.

A K-9 unit caught a man identified as Dominic Adesanya about 7:16 p.m. on the North Lawn, said Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan. He kicked at one of the dogs, then another dog subdued him.

"Where he landed, the officers swarmed on him," said Philipos Melaku-Bello, a witness.

Adesanya, 23, of Bel Air, Maryland, was then taken to a nearby hospital, said Donovan. Charges against him are pending. He was unarmed at the time of his arrest.

The White House was put on lockdown during the incident. Two K-9s were taken to the veterinarian for injuries they sustained in the incident.

The Secret Service came under scrutiny last month after Omar Gonzalez, a knife-wielding Iraq War veteran, allegedly managed to slip over the fence, past several layers of security, and into the White House's East Room, where he was subdued by an off-duty agent.

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson resigned after the incident.

"I don't like that anybodys head rolled from the last incident," said Melaku-Bello. "But if it meant that it got tightened up to the level it got tightened up to today, then something came out of somebody's head being rolled, even if she was innocent."

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