The Secret Service apprehended an intruder at the White House. It turned out to be a 2-year-old boy.

• A two-year-old boy managed to squeeze through the White House's metal fence on Tuesday.
• The tiny White House intruder was quickly retrieved by Secret Service officers.
• He was returned to his parents, who were briefly questioned before they were sent on their way.

Secret Service officers apprehended an unexpected intruder on White House grounds on Tuesday — a two-year-old toddler. 

The child managed to squeeze through the metal fencing on the north side of the facility on Tuesday, setting off White House security systems, the Associated Press reported.

Secret Service officers rushed to retrieve the boy and reunited him with his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue, per the AP. 

Access to the area was briefly restricted until the boy was returned to his parents, the AP reported. The Secret Service questioned the parents briefly, then allowed the family to leave.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement seen by the AP that officers "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," Guglielmi said.

The toddler breaking into the White House is the complex's first successful intrusion since the fences were doubled in height to about 13 feet in recent years, per NPR.

There have been other security breaches at the White House.

One of the most severe intrusions into White House grounds happened in 2017, during the Trump administration. It involved a 26-year-old man carrying chemical spray, who managed to scale two fences and a vehicle gate, per The Guardian. He spent 16 minutes on White House grounds before being detained by the Secret Service. 

A representative for the Secret Service did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.