A deputy U.S. marshal on a protective detail for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was involved in a shooting incident near her home on July 5, 2024. According to multiple reports and court documents, the incident occurred around 1:17 a.m., and the marshal was sitting in an unmarked government vehicle when a silver Toyota minivan pulled up next to him.
Kentrell Flowers, an 18-year-old man from Southeast Washington, exited the van and approached the marshal's vehicle with a handgun. He pointed it through the driver's side window in an apparent attempt to carjack the marshal. The marshal drew his service weapon and fired several shots, striking Flowers in the mouth.
Flowers was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and later arrested on charges of armed carjacking, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a large-capacity ammunition-feeding device. A Smith & Wesson handgun was found at the scene.
The incident occurred near the U Street corridor in Washington, D.C., and police are investigating it as an armed carjacking attempt. The Marshals Service confirmed that two marshals were part of a unit assigned to protect Sotomayor's residence but did not provide further details.
Flowers remains in custody, and the case is being reviewed by the U.S. attorney's office.
Carjackings in Washington, D.C., are down 46 percent compared to the same period last year, with 258 carjackings reported between January and June 2024 compared to 482 during the same period in 2023.
