The Secret Service Uniformed Division was alerted to a breach at the White House Tuesday morning after a toddler crawled through fencing on the north side of the president’s mansion.
Secret Service chief of communications Anthony Gugliemli told Fox News Digital that the agency “encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House grounds.”
“The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited,” he added.
Authorities reunited the youngster with his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue.
This isn’t the first time a toddler trespassed at the White House. In 2014, another toddler squeezed through the fencing, causing a lockdown on the lawn as the Secret Service sprang into action.
“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,” officials said, according to the White House pool report, NBC News reported.
Late last year, officers from the Secret Service were exposed to a “powdery substance” after making a traffic stop near the White House. Two of the officers were reportedly hospitalized.
“Shortly before 11am, Secret Service Uniformed Division made a traffic stop in the 1700 Blk of New York Avenue,” Guglielmi tweeted at the time. “During the stop, officers came in contact with a powdery substance believed to be suspected narcotics. 1 individual taken into custody & officers are being evaluated.”
The incident came just over a week after the agency was involved in a car accident while transporting Vice President Kamala Harris. The Secret Service’s protective intelligence division initially claimed the accident was the result of “a mechanical failure,” but Guglielmi subsequently confirmed it was actually a driver error after an agent overcorrected and struck a curb.
