A passenger vehicle hit a security barrier near the White House, the Secret Service says, but it didn’t breach the secure complex that surrounds the executive mansion https://t.co/p9R2X7Y48L https://t.co/BLdi5RKvkB
— CNN (@CNN) February 23, 2018
According to the Secret Service, the White House was put on lockdown Friday afternoon after a vehicle (via CNN) “intentionally” crashed into a security barrier near the building around 3:30 p.m. However, the vehicle did not breach the perimeter of the complex. The agency quickly updated the public on the situation on Twitter, including that the driver of the car, a white Chevrolet van with Tennessee plates, was a woman, and she had been apprehended.
UPDATE: The female driver of the vehicle was immediately apprehended by Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers.
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) February 23, 2018
The agency later added that no law enforcement personnel were injured and no shots were fired during the incident. According to NBC News who spoke to a law enforcement source, the woman (whose name has not been released) was known to the Secret Service because she “has mental problems” and has “been around the White House before.” However, according to CNN, the woman is not believed to have been targeting President Trump while crashing the vehicle.
President Trump was in the White House at the time after leaving CPAC to meet with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The Secret Service announced that neither man was ever in danger during the incident since it occurred far away from both the presidential residence and the West Wing.
The incident is yet another high-profile event involving the Secret Service. In 2017, the agency arrested a man who drove up to a White House security checkpoint claiming to have a gun. Later in 2017, but reported earlier this week, an agent was involved in a confrontation with a Chinese security agent over the nuclear football.