US Marshal shoots teenager during attempted carjacking near Sotomayor’s home

Kentrell Flowers, 18, of Southeast Washington, was a passenger in a silver Toyota minivan that pulled up next to a parked, unmarked government vehicle, according to court documents. A police officer was sitting in the vehicle when Flowers exited the rear right passenger door of the van, approached and pointed a handgun through the window. This was an apparent attempted carjacking, charging documents say.

The marshal drew his service weapon and fired several shots, hitting Flowers in the mouth, court documents say. A second deputy marshal arrived in another vehicle and also fired his service weapon, police said.

Authorities said another person in the stolen van fled the scene. The vehicle has not yet been found.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Marshals Service said the two marshals involved in the shooting were part of the unit assigned to protect the residences of U.S. Supreme Court justices. The marshals were tasked with protecting Sotomayor, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Flowers was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and remained there until Tuesday. He was charged in U.S. District Court with armed carjacking, unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of a high-capacity ammunition feeding device. Police said they found a black and silver Smith & Wesson pistol at the scene.

No attorney for Flowers was listed in online court records.

Details of the shooting were previously reported in the Daily Mail.

A DC police spokesman said the shooting is being investigated by the department’s internal affairs division.

According to the Washington DC Police Department, the number of car thefts in the District has decreased by 46 percent: There were 258 car thefts in the first six months of 2023, compared to 482 car thefts in the same period last year.

Aaron Schaffer, Spencer S. Hsu and Justin Jouvenal contributed to this report.