A U.S. Marshal while on duty outside Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s residence shot an attempted carjacker last week, court and police records show.
The documents indicate an 18-year-old suspect pulled up next to deputy marshals parked in an unmarked car on Sotomayor’s block in Washington, D.C. shortly after 1 a.m. on July 5.
After the suspect allegedly attempted a carjacking by approaching the driver-side door and pointing a firearm at the window, one of the marshals fired approximately four shots, striking the suspect in the mouth, the documents show. They were transported to the hospital for treatment and placed under arrest.
The U.S. Marshals Service declined to confirm the marshals were protecting Sotomayor, but the location of the incident matches her residential block in Northwest Washington.
“The Deputy U.S. Marshals involved in the shooting incident were part of the unit protecting the residences of U.S. Supreme Court justices. As a general practice, the U.S. Marshals don’t discuss specifics of protective details,” Abigail Meyer, a spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service, said in a statement.
In a press release issued on Friday, police described the incident as an “U.S. Marshals involved shooting,” but the Daily Mail was the first to connect it to Sotomayor’s protective detail.
Authorities identified the suspect as Kentrell Flowers, who could not be reached for comment. The Toyota Sienna mini-van that Flowers pulled up in also was carjacked, authorities allege.
The Hill has reached out to the Supreme Court for comment.
The Metropolitan Police Department has made more than 75 carjacking arrests this year so far, police data shows. The incident outside Sotomayor’s residence comes months after Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was carjacked while parking outside his apartment in D.C.
Though authorities have not suggested Flowers intentionally targeted Sotomayor’s security detail — the marshals were in an unmarked government vehicle — Supreme Court justices’ protections have become an increasing concern at the court and among lawmakers in recent years, particularly as tensions grew when the court overturned constitutional abortion protections two years ago.
Shortly after the draft majority opinion leaked showing the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, a man was charged with attempted murder on Justice Brett Kavanaugh after he allegedly showed up near the justice’s home with a firearm.
Chief Justice John Roberts that year made judges’ security the focus of his year-end report.
