Shots fired outside US vice president’s home

No injuries reported after multiple gunshots fired from vehicle while Joe Biden was not present at Delaware house.

Biden planned to speak on Monday at a Organization of Minority Women's event in Wilmington [AP]

Multiple gunshots have been fired from a vehicle near the home of US Vice President Joe Biden in the US state of Delaware, the US secret service has said.

Biden and his wife were not at home at the time of the shooting on Saturday night and no injuries caused by the incident were reported. His home in the city of Wilmington is several hundred metres from the main road where the shots rang out.

Authorities were searching outside the Biden residence and nearby houses to determine if any rounds hit anything.

US secret service spokesman Robert Hoback said the shots were fired at about 8:25pm on a public road outside the secure perimeter near the home. 

Secret service personnel heard the shots, saw the vehicle drive past the home at a high rate of speed and flee the scene.

About 30 minutes later, an individual in a vehicle tried to pass a county police officer securing the outer perimeter of the area. That person was arrested for resisting arrest and was scheduled to be questioned regarding the shooting incident. Local police chief Jacob Andrews said it appears the man was not involved in the shooting.

‘Really strange’

Young Cho, who lives two houses up from the Bidens, said that he heard four gunshots just before 8:30pm on Saturday.

“We heard the shots, four of them,” Cho told the Associated Press. “But next door there is always Secret Service so I wasn’t too worried. I feel really safe here. But it was really strange, to hear those kinds of shots next to the vice president’s house.”

Nestled in a heavily wooded area, the vice president’s home is not visible from the main road. A small cottage, occupied by the Secret Service, sits on the property near a gate in front of the driveway that is blocked off by Secret Service vehicles and personnel.

On Sunday afternoon, half a dozen sport utility vehicles were parked near the entrance of the Bidens’ property, providing a heavy security presence in the area. Shortly before 2pm, a motorcade of several more SUVs arrived at the house. It was unclear whether Biden was in any of the vehicles.

The vice president planned to speak on Monday in Wilmington at the Organization of Minority Women’s 31st Annual Dr Martin Luther King Jr breakfast.

The Bidens spend many weekends at their Delaware home and while he served in the Senate, Biden frequently made a daily commute from Delaware to Washington by train.

Source: AP