Reaction to published reports about the shooting of an 18-year-old carjacking suspect “near” the home of Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor by a deputy U.S. Marshal have focused on the irony of the incident, since the Sotomayor is one of three liberals on the bench not friendly to Second Amendment rights.
The suspect, identified as Kentrell Flowers, allegedly stepped out of a silver mini-van and drew a handgun on two deputies in an unmarked car. They were reportedly stationed outside of Sotomayor’s home as part of a protective detail for high court justices. When the teen allegedly aimed the gun at one of the deputies, the officer drew and fired four shots, hitting the suspect in the mouth. Flowers was given first aid and transported to a local hospital, and then arrested.
According to Newsweek, “several conservatives” responded to the incident noting the irony because of Sotomayor’s “perspective” on the Second Amendment. Public reaction to the shooting has been sprinkled with sarcasm.
The New York Post said Sotomayor was not at home when the incident occurred on July 5. The suspect has been charged with armed carjacking, carrying a handgun without a license and possession of a large capacity magazine, the Post reported. It is not clear whether other charges, such as being a juvenile in possession of a handgun, might be added.
Reports say the silver minivan from which Flowers emerged quickly fled the scene. It was not immediately known if there was more than one person in that vehicle.
The incident remains under investigation.
As noted by Newsweek, Sotomayor joined the dissent in the 2010 case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, a Second Amendment Foundation case resulting in the incorporation of the Second Amendment to the states via the 14th Amendment. That component of the ruling opened the legal floodgates for SAF and other gun rights organizations to launch legal challenges to state and local gun control laws over the following decade, leading up to the June 2022 Bruen ruling, invalidating “good cause” requirements for concealed carry permits in several states.
