The Army private shot by mistake near the White House in May said he plans to sue the Secret Service for negligence.
Benjamin Del Real, 25, was hit in the abdomen and critically wounded. He’s now recovering after undergoing two surgeries.
Multiple sources told News4 that Secret Service officers hit Del Real as they tried to stop another man firing at them outside a White House checkpoint.
The night Del Real was shot and wounded, he had spent the day with his sister and father touring the city. They had been to the archives and Arlington National Cemetery and were heading to the White House to take pictures when Del Real said he noticed a man right in front of him pull a gun from a bag.
“I saw the assailant with the gun before he started firing,” he told News4. “I think what’s important to know is he didn’t hesitate. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t pan left or right. He just immediately started. He pulled the gun out and just immediately started firing. And at that moment, I knew that we had to get down.”
Del Real said he went to the ground, pulling his father to safety in a nearby parking garage.
“When we got back to the parking garage, I lifted up my shirt that I was wearing, and there was a bullet wound with no exit wound that I was bleeding out of. And at that moment, I asked Sarah to call 911,” he said.
The three were on Pennsylvania Avenue near 17th Street when police said 21-year-old Nasire Best began shooting at officers. Best was killed and Del Real was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where doctors worked to save his life.
Del Real has had two surgeries and has at least one more to go. He has been recuperating near Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. While he was recuperating, he said he was visited by a high-ranking official with the Secret Service who wanted to see how he was doing.
At this point, the Secret Service has not publicly admitted to shooting the private first class.
Del Real’s attorney, Joseph Murphy, said he has respect for the Secret Service. However, he said, “It seems as though they’ve dropped the ball here over the last few years in terms of protecting many dignitaries, including the president and the Correspondents’ Dinner. It seems to happen more frequently than it ever has in the past, and it’s time to take a serious look at what’s going on inside the Secret Service.”
In the area where Del Real and his father and sister were walking that night, bullet holes were evident in the glass windows and walls of the building.
Del Real said he has cooperated with the investigation and would like to see the evidence in the case.
“At a minimum, being able to see the CCTV footage would be, you know, illuminating. So I think that that would be a good start,” he said.
But Del Real said his biggest concern is now getting healthy enough to return to his job in the U.S. Army.
“Yeah, that’s the biggest worry of this all to begin with is just not knowing if my body, the vessel that I inhabit now, will be able to sustain the rigors of training that lie ahead,” he said.
For now, Del Real remains on leave from the Army.
News4 has learned the investigation into the shooting is now complete and has been turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for review.
In a statement, the Secret Service said it does not comment on pending litigation.
