Party balloons caused a security scare at the White House on Sunday. The photo shows Secret Service officers atop the White House after a shooting near the grounds on May 20. (Michael Reynolds/EPA)
A cluster of balloons caused a security scare at The White House on Sunday afternoon, two days after a man approached a guard booth outside the complex and was shot after he refused to put down the pistol he was carrying.
The U.S. Secret Service said some party balloons floated over the executive complex, and a couple of the balloons landed on the property. The scene was cleared about 1:20 p.m., the agency said.
[Secret Service agent shoots armed man outside White House]
It was not immediately clear if The White House was locked down in Sunday’s incident.
The White House was put on lockdown Friday after a man approached a guard booth with a pistol and refused to put it down. A Secret Service agent shot and critically wounded the man, who remained in critical condition Sunday morning.
President Obama left Washington on Saturday for a week-long trip to Vietnam and Japan and was not at the White House on Sunday, the Secret Service said.
[With terrorism concerns again in mind, President Obama embarks on week-long trip to Vietnam, Japan]
