THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 24, 1995 TAG: 9505240467
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
A member of the uniformed division of the Secret Service and a man who climbed the White House fence were shot in an armed confrontation on the grounds Tuesday night, authorities said.
Neither man was reported to have suffered a life-threatening wound in the confrontation, which occurred about 10:45 p.m., a Secret Service spokesman said.
They were brought to George Washington University Hospital seven blocks from the White House, shortly after 11 p.m.
The officer was shot in his arm, while the other man was wounded in his upper body, said the spokeswoman, Merle Goldberg. Both were in stable condition and it was not immediately known whether either would need surgery, she said.
The identities of the two people who were shot were not immediately available.
WRC-TV reported that the shooting occurred when a man attempted to climb over the southwest gate of the White House and a uniformed Secret Service officer confronted him.
Tuesday night's incident comes at a time of heightened concern for security at the White House, culminating with the closing last weekend of Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th and 17th streets.
The closing Saturday followed a series of security breaches at the White House starting last September when a small plane crashed on the south grounds. The incident Tuesday was the third shooting since then. In one, a man was arrested after he sprayed the White House with bullets from a semi-automatic weapon. In the other, police shot a knife-wielding homeless man on the sidewalk in front of the White House.
The Tuesday night shooting occurred shortly before 11 p.m. after President Clinton had returned to the executive mansion after addressing Democratic congressional campaign committees. Clinton was reported to be unharmed. by CNB