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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.
\u201cThey fortified the White House.\nMade the wall around it even taller.\nBut they couldn't stop one intruder\u2014a toddler who squeezed in through the bars.\nhttps://t.co/Od8UMtWkAi\u201d— David Beard (@David Beard) 1681857293
\u201cFile under: National Security News https://t.co/SerSEHu2oD\u201d— Ryan LaCroix (@Ryan LaCroix) 1681847965
\u201cStraight to jail. \n\nhttps://t.co/6PpmSofjg6\u201d— Lawrence Gridin (@Lawrence Gridin) 1681856303
\u201cNo joke, we were absolutely seconds away from this story being about our 3yo daughter last time we were in DC. That fence has some wide gaps compared to toddler bodies! https://t.co/PH6mQmLOZl\u201d— David Turnbull (@David Turnbull) 1681850155
\u201cdo we yet know if the toddler is in anway related to Nic Cage https://t.co/2HvTMk14xv\u201d— Steven Rich (@Steven Rich) 1681847737
\u201cFor all my friends who work in physical security -- this is great comedy! Millions invested in security, subverted by a toddler! \ud83e\udd23 \ud83d\udc49 https://t.co/3iFSMjOLWm\u201d— Joseph Guarino (@Joseph Guarino) 1681913052
\u201cSetting late night hosts up for an easy \u201cthe White House was already baby proofed during [someone\u2019s] presidency\u201d joke https://t.co/j5REfEtjDC\u201d— Dave Jorgenson \ud83d\udcc8 (@Dave Jorgenson \ud83d\udcc8) 1681855344
\u201cthis headline cracks me up because what was the toddler going to do https://t.co/tBAYxdiYrG\u201d— angel (@angel) 1681847098
\u201cHis diaper was loaded and dangerous.\n\nhttps://t.co/mNpkQM0xsV\u201d— MurMurings by Murray \ud83e\udd73 (@MurMurings by Murray \ud83e\udd73) 1681858779
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."