White House Intruder had 800 Rounds of Ammunition in his Car: Prosecutor

Investigators have found more than 800 rounds of ammunition, a machete and two hatchets in the car of the man who jumped the fence and ran into the White House Friday, a federal prosecutor said Monday.

He further revealed that the accused had been arrested in July as well with a sniper rifle and a map marking the executive mansion, Reuters reports.

An Iraq war veteran, 42-year-old Omar J. Gonzalez had scaled the perimeter fence, run across the north lawn with a knife in hand Friday. The security had stopped him just inside the front door of the White House.

An internal review of the United States Secret Service will be examining as to how Gonzalez made it into the White House before he was stopped. Apart from this, his previous interactions with the Secret Service, and what needs to be done to prevent such security breaches in the future will also be assessed.

In August, Gonzalez was stopped - not arrested - for walking by the White House with a hatchet, the U.S. Attorney's office said, Yahoo reports.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Mudd stated that the accused was a danger to the president, the Huffington Post reports.

In his defence, the ex-wife of Gonzalez  said that post a "terrible" incident during his term in Iraq, he was suffering from a mental illness and needed help.  

"I wish there was something I could have done to help him, he's not a bad guy. He didn't go to the White House to hurt Obama," Samantha Murphy Bell told Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR in an interview Monday.

The incident also highlighted the need to strike a balance between security and continued public access, The Guardian reports. "The secret service has the challenging task of balancing the need to ensure the safety and security of the first family, while also ensuring that the White House continues to be the people's house," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.