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Wayward Party Balloons Trigger Latest White House Security Scare

  • Innocent incident follows recent shooting of armed suspect
  • Secret Service has proposed higher fence around the residence
President Barack Obama walks across the South Lawn after returning to the White House from New Jersey on May 15, 2016, in Washington.

President Barack Obama walks across the South Lawn after returning to the White House from New Jersey on May 15, 2016, in Washington.

Photographer: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP/Getty Images

The latest security scare at the White House turned out to be nothing more than wayward party balloons drifting into secured airspace.

While lockdowns at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue are common -- even the most innocuous-looking unattended package merits security measures around the U.S. president’s residence -- the area is on especially high alert at the moment.