A gunshot was reportedly heard outside the home of Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
The Secret Service said in a statement that uniformed division officers responded to the reports near the U.S. Naval Observatory, which is the home of Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff.
Crime scene units are investigating following overnight discharge of a firearm near the Naval Observatory. There is no indication that the building was targeted and no impact to any protectings. pic.twitter.com/WVurw9wsDn
— Anthony Guglielmi (@SecretSvcSpox) April 17, 2023
“At approximately 1:30 a.m. this morning, Secret Service Uniformed Division officers responded to reports of a single gunshot at 34th and Massachusetts Ave. NW,” said Secret Service spokesman, Lt. Paul Mayhair.
Officials were inspecting a stoplight whose top section had been broken outside the home’s main door on Monday morning. The affected stoplight was still in operation after the Secret Service had vacated the area, and nearby roads had reopened later in the morning.
“No one was reported to be injured and there is currently no indication that this incident was directed towards any protectees or the Naval Observatory,” Mayhair added. “Roads around the intersection are temporarily closed due to the ongoing investigation.”
The Naval Observatory is about 2 miles northwest of the White House in the northwest quadrant of Washington. The area is tightly secured by the Secret Service.
Harris and Emhoff were not at the residence at the time of the incident. The vice president is in Los Angeles with events on her public schedule on Monday.
In the afternoon, she appeared on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” to discuss the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator in hopes of highlighting “how the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in America and supporting entrepreneurs to build a clean energy future for all,” the White House said.
This comes as threats against public officials have ramped up since the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in the U.S. Capitol. Official statistics show that there were 6,955 threats in 2019, 5,206 in 2018, and 3,939 in 2017.
Most notably, Paul Pelosi, husband of former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was attacked on Oct. 29 when conspiracy theorist David DePape barged his way into the residence in search of the then-Speaker of the House.
DePape has since pleaded not guilty to six charges, including attempted murder, first-degree residential burglary, elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, and threatening a family member of a public official.
