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Two people have been shot outside the home of Republican New York candidate for governor Lee Zeldin’s house.
The candidate said his daughters were home at the time of the shooting but no one in his family appears to be injured.
“My daughters Mikayla and Arianna were doing homework on the first floor,” the candidate, who was not home at the time of the shooting, said, The New York Post reported. “They heard the shots. Boom! They went upstairs and locked themselves in the bathroom.
“They’re freaked out,” he said.
The Suffolk County pol, who is running on a tough-on-crime platform, said the two people who were shot were taken to Long Island Community Hospital.
He said his front porch, where he was interviewed by The Post on Saturday, “is now part of the crime scene.
“The local police have cordoned off the area,” the New York State Congressman said.
“One of the bullets was found 30 feet from where my daughters were doing their homework,” he said.
Zeldin’s twin 16-year-old daughters called 911 around 2:30 PM local time.
“Crime is out of control,” the Congressman said. “Like so many New Yorkers, crime literally made its way to our front doorstep.
“There was blood in the rock right next to the porch,” he said. “One of the shooting victims was underneath the porch. The other was underneath bushes near the porch.”
“Law enforcement is currently at our house,” he said. “My entire family is at home working with the investigators and providing the security footage from our home cameras.
“My daughters are shaken but ok,” he said. “My family is grateful to all who have reached out and we will provide another update when we can.”
Law enforcement officials said that the shooting did not appear to have anything to do with the candidate, though one of the victim’s knocked over a campaign sign and there is blood all over Zeldin’s property.
The two victims were said to have been taken to the hospital for treatment.
Zeldin and his wife were at a Columbus Day parade when the shooting occurred.
.@RepMTG joins @BenBergquam and @davezere, reacts to news of the shooting outside Rep. Lee Zeldin's House, and discusses the underreporting of crime stats by the FBI in states such as CA and NY.
Watch our #SaveAmericaRally coverage on @GETTRofficial here: https://t.co/PHcE5wS9vd pic.twitter.com/agcsC27hKa
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) October 9, 2022
BREAKING: New York Congressman Lee Zeldin Statement on Today’s Shooting Outside Family Home pic.twitter.com/yKmR0Uik5x
— Kyle Mazza (@KyleMazzaWUNF) October 9, 2022
Two people were injured in a shooting outside of Rep. Lee Zeldin’s property in Shirley on Long Island Sunday afternoon, police said.
According to Suffolk County Police, the incident occurred at 2:20 p.m. on Saint George Drive West.https://t.co/QcyAWOVbiC
— Spectrum News NY1 (@NY1) October 9, 2022
Last month, to the New York Post, Trump helped GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin raise some $1.5 million for his gubernatorial campaign against Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, who took over as New York governor when former Andrew Cuomo resigned last fall amid a swirling sex harassment scandal.
The funds for Zeldin were raised during a reception at the Chera real estate family’s home in New Jersey, where Trump made an appearance and stumped for Zeldin on Sunday, The Post reported.
The former president lauded Zeldin for assisting him during an “impeachment hoax number one and impeachment hoax number two and a lot of scams,” as well as legal cases seeking to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory.
“I had these maniacs against me. He was one of those great voices,” Trump noted at the event, according to a recording The Post obtained. “Go support Lee Zeldin.”
Trump also touted his administration’s kept promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after his predecessors including presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama promised to do so but did not.
Zeldin, who is Jewish, also spoke at the event and noted that Trump has been supporting him since his first congressional run in 2014.
“There are people you meet in politics who you refer to as friends. They’re the people who show up the day after you win. They tell you they were there the whole time. I’m pretty sure they weren’t. But then they’re our friends,” Zeldin said at the event. “He’s with supporters and strong supporters — people who believe in him, people who believe that his policies are right for America and that his policies still to this day are right for America.”
Zeldin has been lagging behind Hochul in terms of fundraising and in the polls. Her campaign reportedly has around $11.7 million on hand compared to around $1.6 million for Zeldin before the Sunday event.
Still, some polls have the race tightening in recent weeks, with about two months left before the election, The Post reported, adding:
