Firecrackers Prompt White House Lockdown - East Idaho News
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Firecrackers Prompt White House Lockdown

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Getty 091613 WhiteHouse2?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1379372550343MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — A burst of pops from firecrackers lit directly in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. sent the White House into lockdown shortly after 6:30 p.m. Monday night.

As crowds of tourists milling about in the street looked on, Secret Service agents tackled a man on the sidewalk just steps from the Northwest Gate.

The suspect appeared to be a middle-age Caucasian man, wearing shorts and a blue T-shirt. Three uniformed Secret Service officers put him in handcuffs on the ground.

Immediately after the disturbance, Secret Service hurried all reporters, camera crews and network news correspondents inside the building, while armed agents inside the White House grounds took up positions behind trees on the North Lawn.

The lockdown lasted for nearly a half-hour until Secret Service deemed the threat cleared.

The incident came in the aftermath of the Navy Yard shooting in which former Naval reservist Aaron Alexis killed 12 people before being killed in a shootout with cops. Before the White House scare the Senate was locked down as a precaution and the Washington Nationals baseball game was postponed.

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