(CNN) A person crashed a U-Haul truck into a security barrier near the White House on Monday night in what authorities are investigating as a potentially intentional incident.
Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, of Chesterfield, Missouri, is in custody and faces multiple charges including threatening to kill or harm a president, vice president or family member, US Park Police said. The Secret Service said no agency or White House personnel were injured.
The truck crashed into security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Square at 16th Street just before 10 p.m. ET, the US Secret Service said. A preliminary investigation revealed that the driver may have hit the barrier on purpose, the latter agency said.
After the crash, the truck was searched by bomb technicians and no explosives or incendiary devices were found, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN.
Video from CNN affiliate WUSA shows a Park Police officer inventorying the U-Haul truck, packing away a lot of evidence. Among the items seen coming from the truck were a swastika-like flag, a black backpack and a roll of duct tape.
Kandula also faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, destruction of federal property and trespassing, Park Police said.
The incident prompted road closures while authorities investigated the crash, and the nearby Hay-Adams hotel was evacuated at the request of the Secret Service, a hotel employee told CNN. Hotel guests and employees were allowed to return when police deemed it safe a short time later.
The FBI’s National Capital Response Squad is assisting the Park Police and the Secret Service in the investigation.
