Bystander injured during shootout files personal injury claim against Secret Service

A bystander who was injured last May when the Secret Service fired upon a man who opened fire on a security checkpoint near the White House has filed a personal-injury claim against the agency. 

The claim alleges that it was actually a Secret Service agent who shot Benjamin Del Real Jr., a 25-year-old active-duty U.S. Army soldier from Kansas, NOTUS reported. 

Joseph Murphy, Del Real's attorney, said that a "reliable and confidential source" had seen surveillance footage of the incident, which indicates "clear as day" that the Secret Service shot his client. 

Del Real and his father were visiting Washington on May 23 when someone opened fire on the security checkpoint. The gunman was later identified as Nasire Best, and he was killed during the shootout. During the exchange of gunfire, Del Real was hit with a bullet. 

Murphy said during a news conference that Del Real and his father were standing about 20 years away from the suspected gunman, and the Secret Service should have taken a "more surgical" approach to neutralizing the suspect. 

Attempts to negotiate with the Secret Service were unsuccessful, Murphy said. Del Real is filing the calim under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which is a first step in the process to sue the federal government.