A pair of deputy U.S. Marshals believed to be protecting Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor‘s residence in Washington, D.C., shot a suspected carjacker who was armed last week, according to officials.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Marshals Service told the Washington Examiner the shooting incident involved “part of the unit protecting the residences of U.S. Supreme Court justices,” noting that a general practice for the Marshals Service is to avoid discussing “specifics of protective details.” The Daily Mail reported Tuesday that the nearby residence belonged to Sotomayor.
A police report obtained by the Washington Examiner from the Metropolitan Police Department revealed the suspect to be 18-year-old Kentrell Flowers, who allegedly walked up to one of the deputies’ vehicles at around 1:15 a.m. on July 5 and pointed a gun at a bodyguard sitting in a parked vehicle.
One of the deputies fired four shots, hitting Flowers in the mouth. The suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment and arrested.
Authorities have not suggested Flowers was intentionally targeting the Supreme Court justice or her security details. The shooting is under investigation by MPD’s Internal Affairs Division Force Investigations Team.
The shooting outside what is reportedly Sotomayor’s residence comes amid a crimewave in the capital surrounding many other instances of carjackings. On Nov. 12, 2023, Secret Service officers stationed outside the home of President Joe Biden’s granddaughter, Naomi Biden, shot at two teenagers who fled after allegedly attempting to break into a vehicle outside of her residence.
The incident also marks the most recent scenario where an imminent threat was reported in the vicinity of a Supreme Court justice’s residence. In June 2022, 26-year-old California resident Nicholas J. Roske was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and charged with attempted murder after confessing to officials he wanted to kill the justice following the leaked draft opinion that signaled the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Roske has pleaded not guilty.
In April, Roske’s public defender wrote in a status report that plea deal negotiations were ongoing.
The high court’s most recent term ended on July 1. On June 28, Attorney Erek L. Barron filed a status report in Roske’s case asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland for permission to submit another status report in the case on or before July 19, citing continued “substantive plea discussions” in Roske’s case.
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“In the event that the parties do not enter into a plea agreement by July 19, 2024, the government will request that the court conduct a scheduling conference in order to set a trial date,” the government wrote in its latest status report.
The Washington Examiner contacted the Supreme Court for comment.