Lockdown After Mystery Drone Lands Inside the White House Grounds (UPDATE)

UPDATE: The U.S. Secret Service is interviewing a "person of interest" connected to the crash of a quadcopter drone on the grounds of the White House early Monday morning, CNN reported.

JUST IN: The picture of the drone that was found on White House grounds: https://t.co/wrECcfRShT via @Acosta pic.twitter.com/WIhhFDAI0m

— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) January 26, 2015

Authorities say that it appears the drone was a recreational device and did not pose a threat to the White House, though the incident is under continued investigation.

A Secret Service official told CNN that the owner of the drone called in after seeing reports of the drone on the news.

—

A small drone landed on the grounds of the White House around 3 a.m. Monday, sending the building into lockdown as security investigated the device, NBC News reported.

Earlier this morning emergency vehicles swarmed outside WHite House to investigate found device pic.twitter.com/BrkujBJNnN

— Nedra Pickler (@nedrapickler) January 26, 2015

News of the device's discovery began spreading after President Barack Obama’s Press Secretary Josh Earnest mentioned it in a briefing during Obama's ongoing trip to India.

A U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officer stands between the temporary barricade and the fence line of the White House in Washington, DC, October 23, 2014. (JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

It was not immediately clear how or why the drone had been landed inside the White House grounds, but the landing comes mere months after a series of alarming security failures at the official residence of the president.

This story has been updated.

—

Follow Zach Noble (@thezachnoble) on Twitter