Washington - A young child briefly breached security at the White House on Tuesday, crawling under a fence and onto the grounds, according to the U.S. Secret Service. The incident prompted a rapid response from security personnel who quickly reunited the toddler with their parents.
This is not the first time a small child has managed to circumvent White House security. the latest breach raises ongoing questions about perimeter security at the presidential residence,even as officials emphasize the swiftness of the response and the lack of any prolonged threat.
Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, stated that the toddler crawled through the fence on the north side of the White House, triggering security alerts. “The Secret Service uniformed Division today encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House ground,” Guglielmi said. “The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited.”
A similar incident occurred in 2014, just before then-President Barack Obama was scheduled to address the nation on Iraq.That breach also involved a toddler squeezing through the White House fence, prompting a temporary lockdown and delaying the president’s briefing. At the time, a Secret Service spokesman, Edwin Donovan, joked, “We were going to wait until he learned to talk to question him, but in lieu of that, he got a timeout and was sent on way with parents.”
