White House locked down in security alert: witnesses

WASHINGTON: The White House was locked down in a sudden security alert Monday after a man set off firecrackers outside the gates, hours after a gun massacre at a US naval base in Washington.

A Secret Service source confirmed to AFP that the man set off firecrackers, following some earlier reports that shots were fired, in a incident that scrambled security teams at the White House.

Witnesses said that uniformed Secret Service officers tackled a man outside the gate soon after the incident, as reporters and staff were quickly hustled back into the White House complex.