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Washington (CNN) The man operating the drone that crashed on the White House grounds called the U.S. Secret Service on Monday morning to "self-report" his involvement in the incident.

The drone's owner and operator is a government employee who said he was using the drone recreationally, a Secret Service source told CNN. He was interviewed by Secret Service agents and has been fully cooperative, Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said in a statement Monday afternoon.

"Initial indications are that this incident occurred as a result of recreational use of the device," Leary said.

The Secret Service locked down the White House shortly after 3 a.m. after an officer on the south grounds of the White House spotted the drone, described as a two-foot wide "quad copter," flying above the White House grounds before crashing on the southeast side of the complex. The officer saw the drone flying at a very low altitude.

The drone was believed to have flown over the White House residence after taking off in a neighborhood east of the White House, a Secret Service source told CNN.

A second source said the flight path had not been fully confirmed by investigators.

The Secret Service will continue to investigate the incident through "corroborative interviews, forensic examinations and reviews of all other investigative leads," Leary said.

Full article here White House Drone