The US Secret Service said one of its agents was robbed at gunpoint on Saturday night as Joe Biden was visiting Los Angeles for a star-studded campaign fundraising event, officials said.
The agent was returning from work when he was accosted in a residential neighborhood in Tustin, about an hour’s drive south-east of Los Angeles, according to the Secret Service.
Someone called the Tustin police department shortly after 9.30pm to report the robbery.
The agent, who was not injured, fired his gun during the confrontation, police said. The Secret Service said they did not know if anyone was shot.
Police said the assailants stole the agent’s bag at gunpoint.
“The employee discharged their service weapon during the incident but unknown if the assailants were struck,” a Secret Service spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, said in a statement. “We are thankful that the employee did not sustain any injuries.”
Authorities did not name the agent and Tustin police said on Monday they had not found a suspect. Officers did find some of the agent’s stolen belongings in the area. Police reported a silver Infiniti FX35 was seen leaving the scene.
Biden and former president Barack Obama held a star-studded fundraising event in Los Angeles on Saturday featuring the actors Julia Roberts and George Clooney and the comedian Jimmy Kimmel. The event brought in more than $30m for Biden’s re-election campaign, its largest single-event haul so far.
