Would-be carjacker targets Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor security detail officer, suspect shot
MADRID, SPAIN - MARCH 04: King Felipe VI of Spain receives Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of The Supreme Court of the United States at Zarzuela Palace on March 04, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Pablo Cuadra/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - A would-be carjacker was shot Friday in Washington, D.C., when he pointed a gun at a U.S. Marshal assigned to protect the homes of U.S. Supreme Court Justices near the residence of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Two Deputy U.S. Marshals were on-duty working a protective detail on the 2100 block of 11th Street NW around 1:15 a.m. when Kentrell Flowers, 18, exited a silver minivan and approached one of the unmarked Marshal’s vehicles, D.C. Metropolitan Police said in a criminal complaint.
Flowers pointed a handgun at the Deputy U.S. Marshal through the driver-side window in an apparent attempt to carjack him, according to police.
The Deputy Marshal pulled out his service firearm and fired approximately four times at Flowers through the window, according to a police criminal complaint. A second Marshal from another vehicle also responded and fired his service weapon.
The U.S. Marshals Service confirmed to Fox News that the Deputy U.S. Marshals involved in the shooting incident were assigned to the unit that protects the residences of U.S. Supreme Court justices, though the agency said it could not discuss specifics of protective security details.
There is no indication Justice Sotomayor was in her home at the time, or in any danger.
Flowers was shot in the mouth and rushed to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
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Authorities recovered a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson with 8 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition in a 13-round capacity magazine, according to the complaint.
Flowers was arrested at the hospital. He faces charges of armed carjacking, carrying a pistol without a license and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.
So far this year, there have been 258 carjacking offenses reported in Washington, D.C., according to public police data. The statistics show that 71% of those offenses involved guns.
The number of carjacking offenses year-to-date was down 46% compared to the same period last year, according to the data.
Within the last nine months, several high-profile carjackings and attempted car break-ins were reported.
In January, former President Trump administration member Mike Gill was shot during a carjacking rampage in DC. Gill later died of his injuries.
In November, a U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to protect President Biden’s granddaughter, Naomi, opened fire at attempted car break-in suspects in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The Secret Service said at the time that there was no threat to any protectees.
A month earlier, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was carjacked near the Capitol by three armed assailants, who stole his car but didn't physically harm him.
Fox News’ Bill Mears, Shannon Bream and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.