WASHINGTON: A man carrying a backpack was arrested on Friday night near the White House residence, officials said.

The White House includes the US president’s office as well as his official residence.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, officials said the man reached the executive residence after breaching security at the White House complex.

A Secret Service officer spotted him near the south entrance to the executive residence just before midnight.

CNN reported that President Donald Trump was at the White House when the intruder was discovered. A Secret Service source told CNN the suspect might have entered the White House grounds on the east side before moving close the residence’s south portico entrance.

The White House was placed under security condition “orange,” one of the highest levels of security for the US Secret Service.

The Secret Service is interrogating the suspect but released no details about him.

Trump was spending the weekend at the White House and was alerted to the incident late on Friday night.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2017