WASHINGTON (AP) – Much of the White House was evacuated on Friday after someone jumped the fence at the executive mansion.
The incident occurred just minutes after President Barack Obama and his daughters left the White House on Friday evening aboard Marine One on their way to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland where Obama and his family were to spend the weekend.
White House staffers and Associated Press journalists inside the West Wing were evacuated by Secret Service officers, some with their weapons drawn. A Secret Service agent at the scene said someone had jumped over the fence on the north side of the White House.
Those evacuated were later allowed back into the White House, but the area remained closed to pedestrian traffic.
Last week, on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Secret Service apprehended a man who jumped over the North Fence of the White House. Officers drew their firearms and used a service dog as they took the man in custody.