Man Sought After Shooting Near White House
The arrest warrant issued for Ortega is for carrying a dangerous weapon — a felony — according to police.
The man has ties to Idaho, but is believed to still be in the Washington area, police said.
In addition to naming Ortega, police released his picture and described him as a Hispanic male, 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds with brown eyes and black hair;. He also has several tattoos, including one with three dots on his right hand and another reading “Israel” on the left side of his neck.
A Secret Service official who asked not to be identified reported that gunshots rang out Friday night as two cars sped on the National Mall.
Agents stationed nearby on 16th Street heard the shots, then saw the cars heading west on Constitution Avenue, the official said.
At least one witness saw that someone had “jumped out of the vehicle and ran,” but no one was captured, the official said.
After the shooting report, the U.S. Park Police said it recovered a vehicle that had crashed near the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.
A semiautomatic rifle was recovered from the vehicle, U.S. Park Police spokesman Sgt. David Schlosser said Saturday night.
Investigators think the man may be linked to that vehicle, Schlosser said. He declined to say whether shell casings were found from the reported shooting.