ASHLAND — The public wants to know why Jesse Olivieri did what he is accused of doing Friday in Washington, D.C.
But they will have to wait a little longer for an explanation.
Olivieri was shot by a U.S. Secret Service officer Friday after he refused to drop a gun he took to a checkpoint in the vicinity of the White House about 3:06 p.m. He was shot once and then taken into custody. A gun was found at the scene. He was taken to George Washington University Hospital, where was listed in critical condition Saturday.
Locally, police are not willing to comment.
Schuylkill County Sheriff Joseph Groody said he talked with the Butler Township Police Department who told him they were instructed to refer questions to the U.S. Secret Service.
Robert Hoback, a Secret Service spokesman, said Saturday that they do not have updated information on the incident.
“As it’s an ongoing investigation, we can’t comment at this time outside of what we released yesterday,” Hoback said in an email.
Hoback said he could not even confirm the man’s age. No records could be found for Jesse Olivieri in the Uniform Judicial System of Pennsylvania.
Olivieri lives at 119 Malones Road, Butler Township. The Schuylkill County Online Parcel Locator lists the owner of the property as Michael C. Olivieri. Nobody was home about 1:15 p.m. Saturday. The blinds were drawn and a truck was parked next to the house.
John Hadesty, who lives at 110 Malones Road, said he didn’t often speak to Jesse Olivieri.
“The whole family is nice,” he said, declining to say who else actually lived there.
He said he would see Olivieri mowing grass and would say hello.
Hadesty said he did notice a lot of police vehicles in the area Friday.
“I know there was a cop car right in front of the house,” he said.
A supervisor with the Schuylkill County Communications Center said they didn’t have information about all the police vehicles in the area Friday.
Hadesty said he didn’t see what the police were doing or if they were in the house.
He said he was surprised by the situation and all the attention it has caused.
“You wouldn’t ever expect it,” he said.