A member of the US Secret Service was robbed at gunpoint Saturday night in California during President Joe Biden’s high-profile fundraising campaign.
Scripps News reported Monday that Tustin Police Department officers responded to a call and discovered that the victim was a member of the Secret Service who had fired his own weapon during the robbery.
It is unclear if the perpetrator was injured, and on Monday afternoon the Tustin, California, Police Department said it was still investigating the incident.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed to Scripps that a member of the United States Secret Service was the victim of the robbery.
“The employee fired his service weapon during the incident, but it is not known if the attackers were hit,” Guglielmi said.
Secret Service agents and other attendees are seen surrounding Marine One in Los Angeles on Sunday. A Secret Service employee had her purse stolen in an armed robbery Saturday night in Orange County, California, the night of Biden’s major fundraiser.
President Joe Biden (center right) and first lady Jill Biden (right) walk to Air Force One followed by their granddaughter Maizy (left) and first daughter Ashley Biden (center left) as they depart Los Angeles on Sunday.
“We are grateful that the employee did not suffer any injuries,” he added.
Some of the Secret Service official’s belongings have since been found.
The thief fled in a silver Infiniti, and Tustin police included a photo of the vehicle while asking the public for tips.
It was not immediately clear whether the Secret Service employee had been tasked with protecting Biden on the trip to Los Angeles.
Biden returned to his hotel on Saturday shortly before 9 p.m.
Tustin is located in nearby Orange County, California, and police responded to the call at 9:36 p.m.
Biden flew directly from the G7 in Italy to appear at the California fundraiser alongside movie stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts, comedian Jimmy Kimmel and former President Barack Obama on Saturday night.
He returned to Washington on Sunday night.
The Tustin Police Department issued a press release detailing the Saturday night armed robbery of a Secret Service agent. The officer fired his gun during the attack. The incident remains under investigation
President Joe Biden was joined by former President Barack Obama at a star-studded fundraiser that night, raising more than $30 million to go toward Biden’s re-election bid against former President Donald Trump.
In good news for Biden’s campaign, the fundraiser raised more than $30 million for the Democrat in his re-election campaign against former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.
However, questions were raised on Monday about a viral video that appeared to show the 81-year-old president frozen on stage, guided by Obama.
During Monday’s press conference, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre complained about several recent viral videos that conservatives have promoted online, including one of Biden abandoning the California fundraiser.
She called them “cheap fakes.” “They are done in bad faith,” she chided.
‘Let’s not forget: President Obama and President Biden have a relationship. They are friends. They are like a family. And I think that’s what he wears,’ she said,’ he said to a question posed by DailyMail.com.
Jean-Pierre also referred to a statement from the former president’s office.
‘Obama’s office issued a statement. So I refer you to that statement about what others accused of them. And he said this didn’t happen in the sense of what people said, he said they were watching, right? Or what they were falsely saying they were seeing,’ the press secretary continued.
The White House confirmed it was referring to a four-word post by Obama spokesman Eric Shultz that said, “this did not happen.”
‘You saw the president put his hand behind President Biden’s back and they walked off the stage. After answering questions. Or at an event to answer questions from Jimmy Kimmel. That’s what he wears,” Jean-Pierre said.