Just before 6:30 pm--roughly 10 hours after the Navy Yard shooting--somebody had the really bright idea to shoot off firecrackers across from the White House.
As crowds of tourists milling about in the street looked on, Secret Service agents tackled a man on the sidewalk just steps from the Northwest Gate.
The suspect appeared to be a middle-age Caucasian man, wearing shorts and a blue T-shirt. Three uniformed Secret Service officers put him in handcuffs on the ground.
The suspect was identified as Alexander Sahaghan, the Secret Service told ABC News. He is in custody but no charges have been filed yet.
The Secret Service also confirmed that the firecrackers were thrown over the north fence onto the White House property. He is likely be slapped with a charge of "throwing a projectile," an official said.
Several news outlets were getting ready to do live reports from Pennsylvania Avenue when Sahaghan loosed his firecrackers. The Secret Service ordered everyone inside and cordoned off the North Lawn for about an hour.
Throwing anything near the White House is a really, really, really dumb idea any day of the week--but especially on the day of a mass shooting just a few blocks from the Capitol and the White House. Sahaghan's idea of a prank may have just ruined him for life.
As a side note, Faux News is drawing hackles this morning for initially reporting there was a man with a gun near the White House. Apparently this was based on interviewing people who thought they heard gunshots.