Topline
A U.S. Marshal allegedly shot an 18-year-old alleged carjacker outside the Washington D.C. home of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday, according to Washington D.C. police, though it remains unclear if the carjacking or the shooting had anything to do with the Supreme Court justice.
Two marshals reportedly assigned to protect the home of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor fired ... [+]
Key Facts
The attempted carjacking took place at roughly 1:15 p.m. Friday afternoon at the 2100 block of 11th Street Northwest in Washington D.C., where two deputy marshals were parked in separate vehicles, according to D.C. Metropolitan Police.
The alleged suspect approached one of two deputy marshals parked in separate cars, pointing a handgun at his car in what the Metropolitan Police described as an attempted carjacking.
The marshal—who was part of a unit tasked with protecting “the residences of U.S. Supreme Court justices,” ABC News reported, citing a U.S. Marshal spokesperson—then fired at the suspect, while the second marshal followed suit, firing his weapon at the alleged carjacker.
The suspect was identified as 18-year-old Kentrell Flowers, who was transported to a local hospital and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to police—neither of the two marshals were injured.
Flowers was arrested and charged with armed carjacking, carrying a firearm without a license, and possession of large-capacity ammunition.
The marshal involved is under investigation by the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, which investigates all shootings involving law enforcement officers in Washington D.C., according to the Metropolitan Police.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Key Background
Violent crime, including homicides, in the nation’s capital has gradually increased over the past two decades, jumping from 198 homicides in 2004 to 274 last year, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department. The department has recorded 1,820 instances of violent crime so far this year, including assault, robbery, homicide and sexual abuse, while auto theft has also posed an issue for officers. So far this year, police have recorded 12,407 instances of property crime, including 2,496 cases of motor vehicle theft. Violent crime is down significantly from this point last year, with the total violent crimes reported 30% lower than the same point in 2023. Motor vehicle thefts are down 33% from this point last year, with homicides down 27%.
Tangent
Sotomayor, 70, was appointed to the Supreme Court in August 2009, the first of two justices nominated by former President Barack Obama to the nation’s high court (the second was Justice Elena Kagan in 2010). In her 15 years on the bench, Sotomayor has been an integral member of the court’s waning liberal bloc, which in recent years has dwindled, giving Republican-nominated justices a 6-3 majority. Sotomayor has supported women’s rights issues and diversity and inclusion measures while on the court, dissenting to the court’s 2022 ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, and dissenting to the court’s 2023 decision striking down affirmative action, which she argued amounted to rolling back “decades of precedent and momentous progress.” Recently, Sotomayor dissented in the court’s ruling to strike down Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement, dissented in its ruling to allow cities to punish homeless residents for sleeping in public, and dissented in the court’s momentous decision to strike down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s practice of administrative law, a ruling that weakens agencies that fall under the executive branch. She also dissented in former President Donald Trump’s immunity case, writing the majority ruling “makes a mockery of the principle, foundational, to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law.”
