A vehicle speeding past the Delaware home of Vice President Joe Biden fired shots on Saturday night around 8:25 pm. According to law enforcement officials, Biden and his wife were staying at the residence this weekend but fortunately, they were not at home at the time of the incident.
Although witnesses saw the vehicle as it sped away, local police and agents with the Secret Service were unable to catch it. Since the Biden’s home sits back from the road about 300 yards, it remains unclear at this time if any of the shots fired actually hit the home or if the person or persons in the vehicle were simply shooting in that direction.
Sunday morning, agents carefully scoured the home and property looking for any bullet marks or casings but again, no formal comment on findings has been made. There is also no immediate reason that the Biden’s home would have been shot at.
The New Castle County police and Secret Service are working closely together investigating the shooting, this according to spokesperson Edwin Donovan with the Secret Service. Also helping with the investigation is the Baltimore field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
It was also reported that approximately one hour after the shooting occurred, a single man driving in a vehicle tried to drive past the police offer who was keeping the area around the home secure. When stopped and questioned, the man resisted arrest, leading to him being arrested and taken into custody for questioning and possible charges.
The same night of the shooting, Vice President Biden and President Obama were briefed on the incident. Interestingly, the shooting took place at the same time that the Secret Service is working to restore its image following a number of scandals that caused significant embarrassment.
Julia Pierson, the director of the Secret Service, resigned last October after the agency was criticized for its poor handling of a man with a knife making over the fence of the White House and actually getting inside to the door of the North Portico. In her absence is Joseph P. Clancy who is a former head of President Obama’s protective detail.
Although he has expressed interest in taking the position permanently, Jeh Johnson, secretary for the Department of Homeland Security along with Obama have not decided if the agency should be run by an insider or someone from the outside.
Sean Joyce, former deputy director of the FBI who formally retired in 2013 is a serious outside contender. Joyce was also a former leader of SWAT. Many people believe Joyce has the disciplinarian foundation and beliefs to change the culture of the Secret Service.