A man has come forward and reported himself over the drone that crashed into the White House grounds Monday, but then the incident caused the Secret Service to activate a lockdown till dawn and then thereafter commenced an investigation into the incident.
Nicole B. Mainor, the Secret Service spokeswoman admitted that a man contacted the agency to report the incident, and that “initial indications are that this incident occurred as a result of recreational use of the device.”
The culprit is a government employee who does not work for the White House and he confessed the incident was an accident; he didn’t mean to fly the device over the White House but the thing obviously got out of hand. But considering that the White House has faced a series of security breaches in recent time, the offender has been arrested until further advice.
According to Mainor, “This investigation continues as the Secret Service conducts corroborative interviews, forensic examinations and reviews all other investigative leads,” hinting that the case will be presented to the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. for a decision on possible prosecution.
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were away in India when the incident occurred, and it is not clear if daughters Sasha and Malia together with their grandmother Marian Robinson who equally lives at the White House were at the White House residence when this happened.
Speaking in far away New Delhi, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest admitted that a “device” was found in the White House grounds, and that “The early indications are that it does not pose any sort of ongoing threat to anybody at the White House.”
Police, fire and other emergency vehicles swarmed around the White House in the predawn hours, with several clustered near the southeast entrance to the mansion. When the lockdown was lifted at 5 a.m. at dawn and workers were allowed to enter the complex, about a dozen Secret Service Men fanned out to search the grounds for further evidence of any breaches.
The drone was a two-foot-long quadcopter, and crash-landed into the grounds of the White House overnight. Many small quadcopters are essentially sophisticated toys that can also be used for commercial activities like aerial photography and inspection. Often weighing only a few pounds, they sell for as little as a few hundred dollars or less, and were popular Christmas gifts last year. More elaborate models sell for thousands.