An agent assigned to protect Joe Biden’s granddaughter opened fire during an attempted break-in into an official vehicle, the “Secret Service”, the protection service for high-ranking personalities of the American state.
The incident took place on Sunday in the streets of an affluent area of the US federal capital. It was not immediately clear whether Naomi Biden was in the area at the time of the shooting.
“Without apparently touching anyone”
“On November 12 at approximately 11:58 p.m., Secret Service agents found three individuals breaking the window of an unoccupied and parked government vehicle,” service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said on X, formerly Twitter.
“During this confrontation, a federal agent used his service weapon, without apparently hitting anyone,” he said, indicating that the suspects had fled the scene and that there had been “no threat to protected persons”. The vandalized car was part of the system protecting Naomi Biden, eldest daughter of Hunter Biden, the younger son of the Democratic president, according to American media.
Joe Biden, aka “Pop”
“A wanted notice has been issued in the region,” added Anthony Guglielmi. The 29-year-old lawyer was kept informed of the attempted break-in, according to American media.
Joe Biden is known to be close to his grandchildren, who call him “Pop” and often accompany him to official events.
More and more car thefts in Washington
Naomi Biden is named after the president’s first daughter, who died as a baby in a car accident in 1972, which also claimed the life of Joe Biden’s first wife.
The attempted break-in comes as the city of Washington is experiencing a sharp increase in car thefts, with more than 860 crimes reported since the start of the year, according to the capital police, more than double the number of same period the previous year.