Joe Biden shooting news: Shots fired outside Vice President's home, shooter gets away from Secret Service
WASHINGTON — Someone in a passing car fired gunshots near the home of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Greenville, Del. Saturday night, according to reports. Fortunately, the vice president and his wife were not at home, but the driver got away. The U.S. Secret Service is now working with local authorities in an investigation.
The shots were fired at about 8:25 p.m. outside the security perimeter of the home, which sits about 300 yards back from a public road in the affluent Wilmington suburb on a public road. Secret Service personnel at the residence heard the reports and saw the vehicle speeding away but were unable to catch the culprit.
When police arrived, they heard more shots about a mile away from the home at the Hoopes Reservoir, though it is unclear whether the incidents are linked, New Castle County Police spokesman Jacob Andrews told The Washington Post.
About a half hour after the shots rang out, a man attempted to drive past a police officer that was securing the area outside the Bidens' home. He resisted arrest, but was taken into custody and is being questioned.
Biden and his wife, Jill, were in Delaware when the shooting occurred but were out for the evening, the Secret Service told Reuters. Both the Vice President and President Obama were briefed on the incident Saturday night.
Agents are currently investigating the home for bullet holes, and it is still unknown whether the shots were aimed at the residence. The motive for the shooting remains unclear as well.
Vice President Biden's spokesperson has declined to make a statement, referring all questions to the Secret Service.
"The Secret Service is working closely with the New Castle County police on investigating this incident," a statement from the Secret Service read. The FBI's Baltimore division is also assisting with the investigation.
The incident occurred as the Secret Service tries to recover from a series of security lapses, including an incident in September when a knife-carrying man jumped the White House fence and ran into the president's official residence. The agency announced last week it would remove four senior officials from their jobs and retire a fifth, as part of a shake-up intended to address problems in the organization.
Biden, 72, who served as a U.S. senator from Delaware for more than three decades, has residences in New Castle County and in Washington, D.C.