Shots were fired from a moving vehicle near US Vice-President Joe Biden's house in Delaware.
Shots were fired from a moving vehicle near US Vice-President Joe Biden's house in Delaware.Reuters

Shots were fired from a moving vehicle near US Vice-President Joe Biden's house in Delaware, although Biden and his wife were away at the time, the Secret Service has said.

The shots are said to have been fired on Saturday night at 20:25 local time from a public road in Greenville. Police later arrested a man, although it is not known if he was directly involved in the incident.

Both the motive as well as the individuals involved in the shooting have not been identified immediately even as officials are reportedly investigating if the shots were directly fired at Biden's residence, which is located about 300 yards away from the road.

"The Secret Service is working closely with the New Castle County police on investigating this incident," Edwin Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service said as reported by New York Times. Parts of the investigations are also being carried out by FBI's Baltimore field office.

According to Secret Service, the vehicle from which the shots were fired "drove by the vice president's residence at a high rate of speed".

"The shots were heard by Secret Service personnel posted at the residence, and a vehicle was observed by an agent leaving the scene at a high rate of speed," it added.

The Biden family spends many weekends at the Delaware house, the AP news agency notes.

The incident comes four months after a man armed with a knife was able to enter the White House, an incident that raised questions about the President's security and prompted the resignation of the head of the Secret Service.

The Secret Service previously too has been dogged by lapses in security surrounding US President Barack Obama.