Secret Service Agents Fire Shots After Attempted Vehicle Break-In

A Secret Service agent stands guard in a file photo. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

The U.S. Secret Service on Nov. 13 confirmed that its agents who are tasked with protecting President Joe Biden’s granddaughter fired shots in the midst of an attempted break-in.

In a statement, a spokesman for the agency, Anthony Guglielmi, confirmed a “weapons discharge following a break-in to a Secret Service vehicle,” noting that two or three potential suspects fled the scene. A bulletin was then issued to other Secret Service units, the statement said, while noting that D.C.’s Metropolitan Police are investigating the matter.

The agents who opened fire were with Naomi Biden’s security detail in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood before midnight when they saw the suspects breaking into their unoccupied vehicle, officials with the agency confirmed to several media outlets on Nov. 13.

Officials said it’s believed that none of the suspects were shot and that the suspects fled in what the agency described as a red vehicle. Descriptions of the suspects weren’t provided.

“There was no threat to any of the protectees,” the agency said, noting that the incident is being investigated further.

Washington has seen a significant rise in the number of car-jackings and car thefts this year. Police have reported more than 750 car-jackings this year and more than 6,000 reports of stolen vehicles in the district. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was carjacked near the Capitol several weeks ago by three armed assailants, who stole his car but didn’t physically harm him.

Naomi Biden, granddaughter of President Joe Biden, arrives at the White House on June 22, 2023. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Violent crime in Washington has also been on the rise this year, up by more than 40 percent from last year. In February, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) was assaulted in her apartment building; she suffered bruises but escaped serious injury.

Earlier this year a staffer for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was “brutally attacked in broad daylight” in Washington, he said at the time. It was later confirmed that a suspect was arrested in connection to the incident.

Ms. Biden, a 29-year-old lawyer, hasn’t issued a statement on the matter and neither has the White House. It isn’t clear whether she was in the vicinity of the attempted carjacking or Secret Service-involved shooting.

She’s the oldest daughter of President Biden’s son Hunter. In November 2022, Ms. Biden married Peter Neal in a ceremony at the White House.

Secret Service officials didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for additional comment.

Crime on the Rise

In late September, the U.S. capital city hit the 200 murder mark, according to officials, which drew a response from the D.C. Police Union on social media.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) speaks to reporters on Capital Hill on Oct. 3, 2023, a day after he was car-jacked in early October 2023. CNN/Screenshot via NTD

“We are still short 100s of cops and the responsible policing that used to address this has been prohibited by misguided legislation,” the union wrote on X, formerly Twitter, more than a week ago.

Earlier this year, Republicans criticized the leaders of Washington D.C. during a House hearing, portraying the capital as a Democrat-run city that has long been mismanaged and fallen into a state of disarray because of left-wing bail reform rules. In May, they passed a measure that would overturn a so-called police reform package that was passed by the D.C. Council amid the nationwide riots and protests in 2020.

“Your position seems to have been ‘Hands off our city,’ and that’s not going to fly with the Republicans on the House Oversight Committee,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told members of the D.C. Council earlier this year. “We want to work with you, and you’re going to have to work with us.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.