Secret Service agents safeguarding President Joe Biden’s granddaughter opened fire when three individuals attempted to breach into an unmarked Secret Service vehicle in the nation’s capital.
The agents, who were tasked with protecting Naomi Biden, were with her late Sunday night in the Georgetown neighborhood when they observed three individuals smashing a window of the unattended, parked SUV, according to an official.
A Secret Service spokesperson did not identify the protectee, but he stated that agents encountered possibly three individuals shattering a window of a parked and unoccupied government vehicle in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., just before midnight on Sunday.
“During this encounter, a federal agent discharged a service weapon and it is believed no one was struck,” the spokesperson said. “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 official spoke to the Associated Press on Monday under the condition of anonymity as he was unable to disclose investigation details publicly.
One of the agents discharged ammunition, but no one was injured, according to a statement from the Secret Service. The three individuals were observed escaping in a red vehicle, and the Secret Service informed Metropolitan Police to issue a regional alert regarding their whereabouts.
This year has witnessed a substantial increase in the incidence of carjackings and car larceny in Washington. More than 750 carjackings and over 6,000 reports of stolen vehicles have been filed with the district police thus far this year. Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas was not physically harmed when his vehicle was stolen by three armed assailants near the Capitol last month.
Additionally, violent crime in Washington has increased by over 40 percent since the previous year. U.S. Representative Angie Craig of Minnesota was accosted in her apartment building in February; she narrowly escaped severe injury with only bruising.
This article was initially published in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The nonpartisan think tank Council on Criminal Justice published a midyear report on 30 U.S. cities for the first half of 2023. It found a large increase in motor vehicle thefts: 33.5%.
CCJ remarked, “The authors conclude that crime patterns continue to shift as the nation has emerged from the COVID pandemic and that policymakers and communities must act urgently to adapt their strategies to meet the new challenges,” CCJ said in a summary of its report. “Though the level of serious violent crime is far below historical peaks, it remains intolerably high, especially in poorer communities of color.”
Biden’s granddaughter nearly paid the price for the Bidenomics-fueled crime surge in America’s inner cities. Thankfully, the president’s granddaughter was unharmed.