Social media users were cackling after NPR published a genius header about a toddler who snuck through the White House gate was quickly apprehended by Secret Service Agents and returned to his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The news outlet titled the article "The White House Grounds Are Safe After a Toddler Breached the Fence," the sort of headline that somehow manages to be both matter-of-fact and snarky as hell—and sounds exactly like something the Secret Service would announce to the press pool.
In fact, the Secret Service released the following response to the incident via its spokesman Anthony Guglielmi:
"The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited."
People loved it—and some of their own commentary added to the hilarity of the situation.
The curious toddler made his way through the metal fencing on the north side of the White House, becoming one of the smallest intruders to ever breach the presidential residence's security.
After the tot's daring feat, U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officers, who are responsible for safeguarding the White House, promptly walked across the North Lawn to retrieve him and reunite him with his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue.
During the brief reunification process, access to the complex was temporarily restricted while officers questioned the parents before allowing them to continue their way.
NPR noted that the incident "may be the first successful intrusion onto the complex since the White House fence was doubled in height to roughly 13 feet (3.96-meters) in recent years after a series of security breaches," adding that the fence, while taller, "has an additional inch of space between pickets, for a total of 5½ inches (12.7 centimeters) between posts."
The news outlet—which recently chose to leave Twitter following attacks from its billionaire owner Elon Musk—reported that older children have on occasion "become stuck in the iconic barrier."
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