Washington: In a desperate act of daredevilry, a 19-year-old Indian-origin teenager crashed a rented truck into a White House barrier, PTI reported.
US Park Police arrested Sai Varshith Kandula after he rammed the U-Haul truck into security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Park on Monday night, sending several pedestrians running away in panic, The Washington Times reported.
The teenager told authorities that he wanted to get inside White House to “seize power” and “kill” US President Joe Biden.
No one was injured, but police were forced to close the road and sidewalk, while a nearby hotel was evacuated.
Missouri resident Kandula rented the truck immediately after flying from St Louis to Dulles International Airport on a one-way ticket, a Secret Service agent said in a statement filed in federal district court in Washington DC.
He drove the vehicle onto a sidewalk outside the White House and into a metal barrier just north of the White House, according to the document.
Kandula put the truck in reverse and crashed into the barrier a second time before police took him into custody.
According to Kandula, he had been planning the attack for six months and detailed the plans in a ‘green book,’ the document said.
He stated his goal was to get into the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation,” the document states.
“When agents asked how he would seize power, Kandula stated he would kill the President ‘if that’s what I have to do and would hurt anyone that would stand in my way’,” as per the document.
Investigators are probing whether mental health played a role.
