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President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time of the incident

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A person has been arrested after a car was driven into a security gate outside the White House late Tuesday, according to the Secret Service.

The agency has refused to say whether they believe the crash was on purpose.

The incident took place at 10:37 p.m. at the security gate for the western entrance to the complex, near the corner of 17th and E Streets.

The driver was immediately arrested by officers from the Secret Service's uniformed division.

President Donald Trump was in the White House at the time, the agency said, but investigators felt no need to initiate a lockdown. Just hours before the incident, the president hosted Republican senators for a luncheon in the Rose Garden as federal employees continue to go without pay due to the shutdown.

News agency photographs from the scene late Tuesday showed bomb detection robots inspecting a black car outside the gate.