There’s a lockdown at the White House after a suspicious package was flung over the fence:
DEVELOPING: Security incident outside the White House due to a suspicious package – @MSNBC https://t.co/PKqcQ9Tpoz
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) May 30, 2016
REUTERS – The north side of the White House was placed on a security lockdown on Monday because of a suspicious package, a Secret Service official said.
The partial lockdown on the Memorial Day holiday occurred while President Barack Obama was home.
Reporters were not allowed to leave the White House compound through its northwest gate and flashing lights from emergency responders could be seen nearby.
The official said hazardous material checks were being made.
Local news radio station WTOP reported that one person was in custody, citing a federal law enforcement official.
We’ll let you know more as more info becomes available.
UPDATE: Business Insider reports that the metal object, whatever it was, did not present a danger after several scans:
The White House has returned to “normal operations” after a partial lockdown triggered when an individual threw a metal object over the fence, a U.S. Secret Service spokesman said on Monday.
“An individual threw a metal object over the north fence line at the White House. Secret Service Uniformed Division officers immediately apprehended the individual without incident. All protective sweeps of the metal object were met with negative results,” spokesman Shawn Holtzclaw said in an emailed statement.