JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

Shots fired near Vice President Biden's Delaware residence

Shots fired near Vice President Biden's Delaware residence

Monday, January 19, 2015, 08:30 GMT+7

Gun shots rang out from a passing vehicle near U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's residence in Delaware on Saturday night, but the vice president and his wife were not at home, the U.S. Secret Service said on Sunday.

The shots were fired on a public road several hundred yards from the house, outside a security perimeter, at about 8:25 p.m. EST (0125 GMT). Secret Service personnel at the residence heard the reports and saw the vehicle speeding away.

Biden and his wife, Jill, were in Delaware when the shooting occurred but were out for the evening, the Secret Service said. The home, near Wilmington, is not visible from the road, and it was not clear whether the gunfire was random or aimed in the direction of the residence.

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.

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.

The Bidens, and President Barack Obama, were briefed about the incident on Saturday night.

Officials declined to discuss the Bidens' location on Sunday for security reasons.

Authorities said they would search the area to determine whether the Biden home or other nearby residences were hit by bullets.

About half an hour after the shooting, local police arrested an individual in a vehicle that attempted to pass an officer who was securing the area. The individual is not currently tied to the incident but the Secret Service said the person would be questioned about the shooting.

The Secret Service is charged with protecting the president and vice president. 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.

Reuters

More

Read more

;

Photos

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta celebrates spring with ‘hat boi’ performances

The art form is so popular that it attracts people from all ages in the Mekong Delta

Vietnamese youngster travels back in time with clay miniatures

Each work is a scene caught by Dung and kept in his memories through his journeys across Vietnam

Latest news