Soldier accidentally shot during Secret Service incident near White House files $25 million personal injury claim

Pfc. Benjamin Del Real Jr. was visiting Washington with his family May 23 while on leave from the Army’s special warfare training when he found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time.

As Del Real, his sister and his father walked on Pennsylvania Avenue at about 6 p.m. to take photos of the White House, another man about 20 yards ahead of them pulled out a gun and began shooting at Secret Service agents, who fired back.

Del Real, 25, saw the shooter and took his father to the ground, moving him behind a concrete barrier to safety. However, a bullet struck the soldier in the abdomen, and he tore his ACL during the incident.

Nearly two months later, Del Real has life-altering injuries and is not certain whether he will be able to continue serving in the Army. He also wants answers and accountability about what happened to him that evening. For those reasons, he filed a $25 million personal injury claim against the Secret Service on Tuesday, alleging negligence. 

Benjamin Del Real Jr. in front of the Capitol Building during his trip to D.C. (Clifford Law Firm)

“We’re seeking two different things here from the Secret Service. We want answers, and we want accountability,” Joseph Murphy, Del Real’s attorney, said during a news conference Tuesday to announce the claim’s filing.

“The Secret Service are specifically and highly trained to identify and neutralize targets,” said Murphy, a former Army lawyer. “They need to do so with surgical precision to eliminate those targets without hurting members of the public. Ben was around 20 yards away. It wasn’t as if he was next to the shooter.”

The man who shot at the Secret Service, Nasire Best, 21, died of gunshot wounds, according to media reports from the incident.

Murphy said Best had his back to Del Real the entire time and could not have fired the shot that hit the soldier. He has also been told that video footage of the incident shows that the bullet that hit Del Real came from a Secret Service agent’s weapon, though Murphy said he hasn’t seen the video himself.

Del Real filed the claim through the Federal Tort Claims Act, a federal statute that permits people to bring legal claims against federal agencies for a wrongful act committed by their employees. The agency has six months to investigate the claim. After that, the individual can file a lawsuit against the agency in federal court.

“Specifically, the Secret Service negligently failed to recognize and account for the presence of Mr. Del Real and other innocent civilians within the area of engagement; negligently failed to identify, assess and consider the backdrop before discharging their firearms and the foreseeable risk that rounds could strike innocent bystanders and negligently discharged firearms in a manner that unreasonably endangered Mr. Del Real and other members of the public,” according to the claim.

The Secret Service declined to comment on the incident because of the pending litigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is leading the investigation but did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

Del Real, of Salina, Kan., enlisted 18 months ago and is assigned to the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C. He arrived at the school in August after finishing basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., according to his official service record.

Del Real has a third surgery scheduled for next month and has already had part of his digestive system removed because of the gunshot wound, he said. He moved June 1 from a Washington hospital to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., for rehabilitation and said he has felt very supported by his Army leadership during his recovery.

“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. “[Army enlistment] has been one of the greatest journeys that I’ve taken thus far in my life, and I’m concerned with the ability to be able to perform the job that I signed up to do at this time,” he said.

Special Operations Command said in a statement that its continued focus is to support Del Real and his family.

During the news conference, Del Real’s sister, Sara Del Real, sat alongside her brother in a show of support.

“We never imagined that an ordinary evening with our family would end with Ben fighting for his life and saving our father from the same fate,” Sara Del Real said. “We hope this tragedy leads to greater accountability and helps prevent something like this from ever happening to another innocent family.”

Benjamin Del Real Jr. in the hospital after his second surgery on May 25, 2026. (Clifford Law Offices)