June 19, 2024
A U.S. Secret Service agent was robbed at gunpoint as President Joe Biden was visiting Los Angeles for a fundraising event over the weekend, officials said.
The agent was returning from work Saturday night when he was accosted in a residential community in Tustin, about an hour’s drive southeast of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
Someone called the Tustin Police Department shortly after 9:30 p.m. to report the robbery. Police said the agent had his bag stolen at gunpoint. The agent, who was not injured, fired his gun during the confrontation, police said. The Secret Service said they did not know if anyone was shot.
Tustin Police said Monday they had not found a suspect. Officers did find some of the agent’s stolen belongings in the area. Police reported a silver Infiniti FX35 was seen leaving the scene.
Biden and former President Barack Obama held a star-studded fundraising event in Los Angeles on Saturday that brought in more than $30 million for Biden’s reelection campaign.
A US Secret Service member fired their gun while being robbed at gunpoint Saturday night during President Joe Biden’s trip to California for a Hollywood fundraiser.
The Secret Service member was returning from a work assignment in Tustin, California, and “discharged their service weapon during the incident,” USSS spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. It is unknown if the Secret Service member hit the suspect, he added.
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“We are thankful that the employee did not sustain any injuries,” Guglielmi said.
The Tustin Police Department said the attack happened at 9:36 p.m. PT near a residential community, and the suspect stole the Secret Service member’s bag. Officers are now looking for a silver Infiniti FX35, or a similar looking vehicle, police said.
Biden had returned to his hotel prior to the incident following a star-studded campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles that featured a conversation between him and former President Barack Obama moderated by Jimmy Kimmel. The fundraiser, which raised more than $30 million for Biden’s reelection effort, also included guests George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jason Bateman, Jack Black and Barbra Streisand, among others.
Police say they have not found the suspect, but they did locate some of the Secret Service employee’s belongings in the area. Tustin Police are the primary investigators of the incident.
Last year, a Secret Service member on security detail for Naomi Biden, the president’s granddaughter, fired at suspects who were allegedly attempting to break into a parked and unoccupied US government vehicle in Washington, DC. Two individuals were charged in relation to that break-in earlier this year.
