White House intruder 'raced through several rooms before being apprehended'

The man who sparked a major security alert after scaling a fence and running in to the White House penetrated further into the building than previously thought, it has emerged.

Former US army sergeant Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, raced through several rooms on the main floor before eventually being apprehended.

Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz told CNN an alarm box near the front entrance had been muted, leaving staff unaware of the intrusion before the suspect burst through the open front door.

"I have deep concerns that the president is not as safe as we want and need him to be," Mr Chaffetz added.

Decorated Iraq war veteran Gonzalez was charged with unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Officials said he was carrying a knife when he jumped the White House fence and entered the executive mansion on September 19.

He was also found to have a machete and two hatchets hidden in his vehicle along with more than 800 rounds of ammunition, it emerged at a court hearing last week.

Gonzalez, from Texas, appeared before a judge again yesterday charged with unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon.

The new details of the breach were first reported by the Washington Post on Monday.

They differ starkly from the Secret Service’s statement the day after the incident that the suspect was "physically apprehended after entering the White House North Portico doors."

"The Secret Service has no comment on that at this time due to the ongoing investigation," Brian Leary, a spokesman for the agency, said of the Post story.

The White House and the Secret Service declined to comment.

The Post said Gonzalez ran past a guard immediately inside the door, past the stairway leading up to the living quarters for President Barack Obama and his family and into the East Room, where he was tackled at the far end of the room by an agent.

The officer posted inside the door appeared to be delayed in learning the intruder was about to come through, the Post reported.

Officers are trained to lock the front door immediately if they learn of an intruder in the grounds.

-The Mirror