The thieves attempted to break into an unmarked Secret Service vehicle in Washington, DC’s Georgetown neighbourhood.
A Secret Service agent protecting Naomi Biden, a granddaughter of US President Joe Biden, opened fire on three would-be carjackers after they were spotted breaking into a parked Secret Service vehicle in Washington, DC on Sunday, the Associated Press reported on Monday, citing law enforcement sources.
Carjackings have become commonplace in the US capital, with over 750 reported so far this year – more than double last year’s numbers. More than 6,000 vehicles have been reported stolen in the same period.
Biden was out with her Secret Service detail in the upmarket Georgetown neighborhood when they reportedly saw three men breaking a window of an unmarked, unoccupied agency SUV. One of the agents shot at the carjackers but did not hit anyone, the Secret Service said in a statement on Monday.
The trio of would-be thieves fled the scene in a red car. The Secret Service said it put out a regional bulletin with the vehicle’s details to Metropolitan Police.
US Government VIPs are not immune to the phenomenon. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was carjacked last month near the Capitol by three armed attackers. While the police recovered his car, finding it abandoned shortly after the theft, the thieves were not apprehended.
Washington, DC has seen a 38% surge in violent crime this year, led by an increase in murders and carjackings.
In February, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minnesota) was assaulted in the elevator of her Washington apartment building. The 26-year-old man who pleaded guilty to the attack had a lengthy criminal record, including a conviction for assaulting a police officer.
The DC Council, the municipal body that governs the US capital, passed a sweeping overhaul of its criminal code last year that significantly lowered the maximum penalties for violent offenses, including carjacking and robbery. The move was quickly blamed for the crime wave that had already begun overtaking the district, and was overturned less than a month after Craig was assaulted.
