The U.S. Secret Service said in a post on the social network X that a toddler got through the White House gate on Wednesday.
Video shows the child, who was wearing a blue coat and red shoes, being carried by police.
“Just after 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officers observed a child slip through the White House north fence. Officers quickly reunited the child with their parents without incident,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi wrote Wednesday.
There have been times before when a child got through the fence near the White House. One child broke through a metal fence on the north side of the complex in April 2023 and went to the North Lawn before being caught by the Secret Service.
An arrest was made about a month before President Trump’s second inauguration after someone tried to climb temporary anti-scale fencing near the White House.
Before last year’s election, the Secret Service put up 8-foot metal fences around the White House, the Building for the Treasury, parts of Lafayette Square, the Naval Observatory, and the home of former Vice President Kamala Harris.
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However, the Secret Service had a much more serious encounter recently.
Earlier this month, the Secret Service shot a man during an armed confrontation near the White House, the agency said in a release, noting that the incident occurred just after midnight.
Officers encountered the armed man about a block away from the White House on the west side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
In a statement, the agency explained that on Saturday, police had provided information about a suicidal individual who was believed to be traveling to Washington, D.C., from Indiana.
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At approximately midnight, Secret Service members discovered a parked car matching the man’s description near 17th and F Streets, NW, and observed a person fitting that description nearby.
“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” the agency wrote in a statement. “The suspect was rushed to an area hospital and his condition is unknown.”
No Secret Service personnel were injured, the agency said, according to Fox.
The Secret Service stated that the Metropolitan Police Department will lead the investigation into the shooting, as it is the primary agency responsible for use-of-force incidents within the District of Columbia.
President Donald Trump was not at the White House during the incident, according to his official schedule. The president is scheduled to depart from his Mar-a-Lago estate today at 5 p.m. and return to Washington, D.C.
The incident comes as Trump announced plans on Friday to release reports on the prior two assassination attempts against him, pledging transparency about the attacks that nearly took his life during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump voiced frustration over the limited information made available to the public and vowed to disclose further details soon.
