UPDATE | Man takes responsibility for drone over White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — A small drone flying low to the ground crashed onto the White House grounds before dawn today, triggering a major emergency response and raising fresh questions about security at the presidential mansion.

A man later came forward to say he was responsible and didn't mean to fly it over the complex. The man contacted the Secret Service after reports of the crash spread in the media, a U.S. official said. The man told the agency he had been flying the drone recreationally. The man is a Washington resident and is cooperating with investigators.

Secret Service agents are now interviewing other people to corroborate the man's story, and they don't currently have any reason to doubt it, the official said.

The official wasn't authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity

Although President Barack Obama was not at home, the security breach prompted a lockdown of the entire complex until officials could examine the drone. The White House later said it did not pose a threat.

The drone crashed on the southeast side of the White House grounds just after 3 a.m., Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said.

The device was described as a two-foot-long quadcopter — a commercially available unmanned aircraft that is lifted by four propellers.