26일(현지시간) 한 남성이 미국 백악관 북쪽 담을 넘어 침입했다가 곧바로 백악관 비밀경호국(SS)에 체포되는 사건이 벌어졌다.
백악관은 "이날 오후 2시 45분께 조지프 카푸토라는 이름의 남성이 북쪽 담을 넘어 북쪽 구역에 도달했고, 즉각 체포됐다"고 발표했다.
CBS 등 미국 방송들의 보도를 보면 이 남성은 미국 국기를 몸에 두르고 담을 넘었으며, 담을 넘은 뒤에는 두 손을 높이 든 채 제자리에서 도는 등의 행동을 했다.
백악관이나 비밀경호국은 카푸토의 더 자세한 신상이나 담을 넘은 동기 등을 밝히지는 않았다.
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(Yonhap) |
<관련 영문 기사>
White House undergoes holiday lockdown after man jumps fence
A man draped in an American flag climbed over the fence at the White House on Thursday, prompting a lockdown as the first family celebrated Thanksgiving.
The man was immediately apprehended and taken into custody pending criminal charges, the Secret Service said in a statement. The incident took place about 2:45 p.m. EST (1945 GMT).
An image of a man atop a section of fence in front of the North Lawn was posted on the website of television station WJLA. Another image showed the man standing on the lawn with his arms raised in victory.
A witness to the incident, Victoria Pena of Houston, said the man was standing with other people visiting the White House compound when he rushed toward the fence carrying what appeared to be a binder.
“I just heard him take a big, deep breath and whisper to himself, `All right, let’s do this’ and he took off,” Pena said. “It was chaotic. Everyone around us was yelling and kids were crying. It was pretty unexpected.”
Security personnel and guard dogs ran toward the man and he lay on the grass awaiting them, Pena said.
The north and south fence lines at the White House were temporarily closed, Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback said. In the hours after the incident, numerous armed security personnel were seen along the streets and sidewalks outside the executive mansion.
President Barack Obama and his wife and daughters were spending the holiday at the White House. (AP)
