Secret Service agents assigned to President Joe Biden’s granddaughter opened fire with their sidearm Sunday, according to one police officer’s remarks to the media. At the time, the Secret Service agents were watching three people try to break into an unmarked car owned by the agency.
The police officer told the Associated Press that the agents saw three people hey saw three people break a window of the parked, unoccupied SUV.
The officer added that the Secret Service detail had accompanied the 29-year-old Naomi Biden to the location that night. However, it remains unknown whether she was nearby at the time of the gunshots.
The Secret Service confirmed in a statement that one agent had fired his gun. However, the agency added that, so far, “no one was struck.”
Washington has seen a significant rise in the number of carjackings and car thefts this year. Police have reported more than 750 carjackings this year and more than 6,000 reports of stolen vehicles in the district.
Naomi Biden, a lawyer, isn’t the first public figure to suffer from the spiraling crime in Washington, D.C. this year. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas was carjacked near the Capitol last month by three armed assailants.
Violent crime in Washington has also been on the rise this year, up more than 40% compared with last year. In February, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota was assaulted in her apartment building, suffering bruises while escaping serious injury.
The president’s granddaughter escaped the scene unharmed, according to the Secret Service. The offenders reportedly escaped in a red car.
Read the Secret Service’s full statement here —
On Nov. 12 around 11:58 p.m. in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, Secret Service agents encountered possibly three individuals breaking a window on a parked and unoccupied government vehicle. During this encounter, a federal agent discharged a service weapon and it is believed no one was struck. The offenders immediately fled the scene in a red vehicle and a regional lookout was issued to supporting units. There was no threat to any protectees and the incident is being investigated by the DC Metropolitan Police Department and the Secret Service.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contribtued to this article.