A Secret Service agent was robbed at gunpoint in California over the weekend while President Joe Biden campaigned in Los Angeles, authorities said Monday.
Police in Tustin, south of Los Angeles, said in a news release that officers responded to a call about a possible robbery on Saturday around 9:36 p.m. Police said they discovered the victim was with the Secret Service and that “his bag was stolen at gunpoint.”
Some of the officer’s belongings were later found in the area. No suspects have been identified.
Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, said in a statement that the off-duty agent was returning from a work assignment at the time and that he used his weapon during the encounter.
“The employee fired his service weapon during the incident, but it is unknown if the attackers were hit. We are grateful that the employee was not injured,” Guglielmi said, adding that an investigation was underway.
Tustin police confirmed the investigation but declined to comment further Monday evening.
Authorities have not named the officer.
The incident occurred the night Biden appeared alongside former President Barack Obama, actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts and comedian Jimmy Kimmel at a fundraiser in Los Angeles, raking in a record haul of more than $30 million for the nation’s largest fundraising event the Democrats, according to Biden’s re-election campaign.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
