Video of a US Secret Service agent apprehending a child who found his way onto the North Lawn of the White House Wednesday went viral on social media.

The incident happened just after 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday evening with the child, whose age was withheld, seemingly impervious to the magnitude of the moment.

Images of a Secret Service agent armed with a long gun and a tactical vest carrying the child away racked up millions of views:

Video journalist Tyler Smith with Gray Television caught the moment on camera and commented, “A kid squeezed through the fence on the north lawn of the White House. Secret Service has retrieved him and brought him back to his parents.”

Anthony Guglielmi, the communications chief for the Secret Service, said agents watched the boy slip through the fence and were quick to approach him and reunite him with his family.

“Just after 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officers observed a child slip through the White House north fence,” Guglielmi said in a statement. “Officers quickly reunited the child with their parents without incident.”

Wednesday was not the first time in recent memory that a child has made his way onto the White House grounds. As The Hill noted, a young boy was able to squeeze through the fence two years ago in April 2023:

Onlookers inside the White House property noticed fuss, and some spotted the child being removed by Secret Service. Access to the White House complex was restricted during the commotion. President Biden was on the property at the time of the pint-sized perimeter breach.

The parents of the child were questioned and sent on their way with the trespassing tot in tow.

The Secret Service said at that time, “The Secret Service Uniformed Division today encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House grounds. The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited.”

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