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Car Crashes Into Building at Bush Rally
Sat November 1, 2003 02:17 PM ET
By Randall Mikkelsen
SOUTHAVEN, Miss. (Reuters) - A car breached security and crashed into a building where President Bush was attending a political rally on Saturday. Police swarmed the car and dragged a woman away.
"The president was never in any danger whatsoever," White House spokesman Trent Duffy told reporters. "There was a vehicle that did crash into the side of the building."
Duffy said a suspect was immediately detained and handed over to local law enforcement officials. Television footage showed helmeted police officers swarming the dark car and struggling with a blond-haired woman who was pushed to the ground and later dragged away, apparently resisting.
Police lifted a young girl from the car and a young boy was also led away. Neither the woman or the children were identified.
Bush was in his limousine at the time but was not close to the car when it crashed into a loading dock area of the DeSoto Civic Center, Duffy said. The president later was seen waving to reporters before boarding Air Force One for his next stop.
Bush kept to his schedule, traveling to Paducah, Kentucky, for the second of four speeches he will make before traveling to his Crawford, Texas ranch on Saturday night.
Security officials had chased the car as it headed toward the building, witnesses said. Some security personnel were seen running with guns drawn toward the entrance of the arena where Bush had given a speech. Others kept spectators and media away from the crash.
After several minutes, the president's motorcade left the scene.
Duffy said that no shots were fired.
The White House spokesman declined to discuss further specifics of the incident or to say whether the president saw it or what his reaction was.
The DeSoto County sheriff's department was not releasing details about woman, who appeared on television footage to be between 25 and 35 years old.
[Source: Reuters]
[ 11-01-2003, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: Dreamer128 ]
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