Secret Service Agent Shoots Man Attempting Carjacking While Guarding Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

A member of Justice Sonia Sotomayor‘s protective detail successfully fended off and shot an armed attempted carjacker in the early morning hours of July 5, according to a charging document recently unsealed in federal court in Washington, D.C.

The incident occurred when U.S. marshals, who were part of the unit that protects the residences of Supreme Court justices, sat in an unmarked car near Sotomayor’s residence. A silver van then pulled up, and an individual, later identified as Kentrell Flowers, exited the vehicle and pointed a gun into the window of the marshals’ vehicle.

One of the marshals promptly drew his gun and fired four times at Flowers, ultimately striking him in the mouth. The marshal retrieved the weapon Flowers had pointed at them and administered first aid until Flowers was transported to a hospital. Flowers’ firearm, a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson loaded with eight rounds, was recovered at the scene.

The driver of the silver van, which investigators confirmed was a stolen vehicle, fled the scene and has not yet been apprehended. The charging document does not indicate that Sotomayor was a target of the attempted theft, but the incident is the latest in a series of security concerns involving high-profile Washington, D.C., residents.

Earlier this year, the Secret Service arrested two individuals for an attempt to break into a Secret Service vehicle that was part of the protective detail for President Joe Biden‘s granddaughter, Naomi. Additionally, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was held up at gunpoint and carjacked in the Navy Yard neighborhood last fall, while Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minnesotta) was assaulted by a man in the lobby of her apartment building in February 2023.

The security of the Supreme Court has been a recurrent issue in recent years. The incident and a rise in threats, coupled with increasing protests outside the personal residences of the justices, prompted Congress to pass legislation that expanded the security funds available to protect the justices and their families.