Multiple shots fired from vehicle outside US Vice-President Biden’s home in Delaware
PUBLISHED : Monday, 19 January, 2015, 10:48am
UPDATED : Monday, 19 January, 2015, 10:48am
Associated Press
A security official stands at the end of the driveway leading to US Vice-President Joe Biden’s home in Delaware on Sunday. Photo: AP
Multiple gunshots were fired from a vehicle near the Delaware home of US Vice-President Joe Biden, the U.S. Secret Service said Sunday.
The vice president and his wife were not at home at the time of the shooting, authorities said Sunday.
The Wilmington home is several hundred metres from the main road where the shots rang out on Saturday night, and authorities were searching outside the Biden residence and nearby houses to determine if any rounds hit anything. Police in New Castle County, Delaware, said there were no reports of any injuries related to the shooting.
Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback said the shots were fired at about 8:25 p.m. on a public road outside the secure perimeter near the home.
Secret Service personnel heard the shots, saw the vehicle drive past the home at high speed and flee the scene.
The Secret Service said about 30 minutes later, an individual in a vehicle tried to pass a county police officer securing the outer perimeter of the area. That person was arrested for resisting arrest and was scheduled to be questioned regarding the shooting incident. But County Police Sergeant Jacob Andrews said it appears the man was not involved in the shooting.
Young Cho, who lives two houses up from the Bidens, said Sunday that he heard four gunshots just before 8:30 p.m. on Saturday evening.
“We heard the shots, four of them,” Cho said. “But next door there is always Secret Service so I wasn’t too worried. I feel really safe here. But it was really strange, to hear those kinds of shots next to the vice-president’s house.”
Biden’s neighbourhood includes stately stone-and-brick homes along a curving two-lane road that winds through rolling hills. Nestled in a heavily wooded area, the vice-president’s home is not visible from the main road. A small cottage, occupied by the Secret Service, sits on the property near a gate in front of the driveway that is blocked off by Secret Service vehicles and personnel.
Police said there was a report of shots fired in the nearby area of Hoopes Reservoir, just northwest of the Biden home. The reservoir is a source of fresh water for Wilmington.
Biden’s office said the vice-president and his wife, Jill Biden, were briefed Saturday night, as was President Barack Obama. Biden’s office referred all other questions to the Secret Service.
On Sunday afternoon, half a dozen sport utility vehicles were parked near the entrance to the Bidens’ property, providing a heavy security presence in the area. Shortly before 2 pm, a motorcade of several more SUVs arrived at the house. It was unclear whether the vice-president was in any of the vehicles.
The vice president planned to speak Monday in Wilmington at the Organisation of Minority Women’s 31st Annual Dr Martin Luther King Jr breakfast.
The Bidens spend many weekends at their Delaware home and while he served in the Senate, Biden frequently made a daily commute from Delaware to Washington by train.
