A soldier wounded during a May 23 shootout near the White House is taking the first legal step toward suing the Secret Service as he seeks answers and accountability.
Benjamin Del Real, a 25-year-old soldier who holds a rank of private first class, was visiting D.C. from Kansas with his sister, Sarah Del Real, and their father over Memorial Day weekend when a man opened fire near a Secret Service checkpoint by the White House.
The gunman, identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best, of Maryland, was killed during the exchange聽of gunfire.
Del Real, according to his attorneys, was about 20 yards away from the gunman when he was struck in the abdomen during the exchange of gunfire.
Chicago-based Attorney Joseph Murphy said his firm believes Secret Service gunfire struck Del Real, based on information from a source who has seen surveillance video. Murphy said Del Real lost parts of his colon and small intestine and faces more surgeries.
“The degree of uncertainty that accompanies being seriously wounded presents its own unique challenges because the road to recovery will be long and strenuous,” Del Real said.
His sister said the shooting left their family shaken and looking for answers.
“The moment that I saw Ben bleeding was undoubtedly the scariest moment of my life,” Sara Del Real said. “I’m grateful beyond words that Ben survived what could have been the last moments of his life, but our family deserves answers.”
Murphy said Secret Service agents should have better accounted for innocent bystanders nearby and been “more precise” and “more surgical” before returning fire.
“With elite training comes an equally high level of responsibility to protect the public,” Murphy said.
Murphy said the first legal step toward suing the agency comes after nearly two months of unanswered questions.
The firm has filed a notice of a personal injury claim, a required step before bringing a lawsuit against a federal agency.
“We don’t even have a single answer from them yet as to, ‘Hey, it was our fault,'” Murphy said. “All we have is ‘We don’t know. We’ll let you know at some point.'”
Asked what they are seeking, Murphy said compensation for Del Real is part of it, but the firm also wants to prevent something similar from happening again.
“Number one is we want to recover on behalf of our client,” said Murphy, who added that secondarily, “we want to ensure this never happens again.”
Del Real said he is also concerned about what the injuries could mean for his Army career.
“I’m without a doubt concerned,” Del Real said. “I enlisted a year and a half ago, and it’s been one of the greatest journeys that I’ve taken thus far in my life, and I am concerned with the ability to be able to perform the job that I signed up to do at this time.”
The Secret Service told 海角精品黑料, “The U.S. Secret Service does not comment on pending litigation.”
The agency also said it is not leading the investigation and referred additional questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. 海角精品黑料 reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. for comment.
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