A U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to the former First Lady Jill Biden’s security detail accidentally shot himself while escorting her at the Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, March 27.
Secret Service Agent Shoots Himself
The unnamed agent reportedly shot himself in the leg at around 8:30am on Friday morning. USSS spokesperson Nate Herring told People Magazine that while Jill was at the airport at the time, she was not actually present during the actual shooting.
Herring went on to say that the agent “suffered a non-life-threatening injury following a negligent discharge while handling a service weapon.”
According to Joseph L. Jordan Law, a negligent discharge is not about intent. Instead, it’s about failures of certain protocol or safety measures for military firearms. Though Secret Service agents are not considered military, veterans make up approximately 20.5% of Secret Service employees.
Witness Speaks Out
A witness told CBS News that it appeared that the Secret Service agent was trying to get back into one of the SUVs when his gun went off. Thankfully, nobody else was injured. Airport operations were also not impacted by the shooting.
After being given medical assistance at the airport, the agent was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. He reportedly remains there in stable condition.
“The Secret Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility will be reviewing the facts and circumstances of this incident,” Herring added. “We are grateful for our law enforcement and public safety partners who provided medical assistance.”
A spokesperson for Jill declined to comment when contacted. Former presidents and first ladies receive lifetime Secret Service protection after they leave the White House.
The former First Lady had been in New York City on Wednesday to attend the opening of an off-Broadway play written by her former chief of staff, former U.S. Ambassador Julissa Reynoso. The two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was in attendance as well.
“When I read the first draft of my friend Julissa Reynoso’s play Public Charge, I knew it deserved a wide audience,” Hillary said. “It’s a uniquely American story about how our country is made by and better for immigrants. And why all of it is very much worth fighting for.”
Jill’s Ex-Husband Charged With Murder
This comes after a difficult few weeks for Jill. Last month, we reported that her ex-husband Bill Stevenson had been arrested and charged with the murder of his second wife Linda. She had been found dead at their home in Delaware back in December.
Bill and Linda had been married for nearly 40 years at the time of her death. Prior to that, Bill was married to the Jill from 1970-1975. Though Jill has claimed that she began dating Joe Biden after her divorce. Indeed, she’s alleged that she met Joe on a blind date in 1975. Bill, however, has long claimed that Jill cheated on him with the future president during their marriage.
In 1972, Bill and Jill worked on Joe’s first campaign for the Senate.
“‘I gave $10,900 to his first campaign — in cash,” Bill later told Daily Mail.
Bill went on to say that he first began suspecting that Jill was having an affair with Joe in August of 1974. At the time, Bill was 26, Jill was 23 and Joe was 31.
“I know exactly when it was. Bruce Springsteen was going to play at The Stone Balloon and I had to go to Northern New Jersey to pay him in advance,” Bill alleged. “I asked Jill to go with me and she said no — she had things to do, she had to look after Joe’s kids, Beau and Hunter. It was kind of a big deal to go meet Springsteen. I had no idea she and Joe were that kind of friendly.”
“Then one of her best friends told me she thought Joe and Jill were getting a little too close,” he continued. “I was surprised that she came to me.”
Bill Kicks Out Jill
Bill’s suspicions about the affair were soon confirmed when a man told him that Joe had been driving his wife’s car when they were involved in an accident.
“I asked Jill to leave the house, which she did,” Bill remembered. “Her father was begging me to take her back when he found out what was going on. He asked me to give her a second chance, but I wasn’t interested.”
Jill has yet to comment on Bill’s arrest. She also has yet to comment on the accidental shooting of her own Secret Service agent. Needless to say, however, it seems that this is not a fun time to be Jill Biden.