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The FBI have launched an investigation after a gunman shot into the North Carolina home of relatives of a Republican running for Congress – with the bullet landing just feet away from where the candidate’s children had been sleeping.
The shooting transpired on October 18 in Hickory at a home belonging to Republican Pat Harrigan’s parents, as he fights for an open seat in the famously liberal 14th Congressional District, in a somewhat contentious race.
The congressional candidate’s daughters, aged 3 and 5, were asleep in the bedroom directly above the room where the shooting occurred, with the bullet coming from a densely wooded area behind the house, piercing a window but not waking the girls.
Harrigan, a firearms manufacturer and U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, has since come forward to assert he would not be intimidated by the shooting, and that ‘death threats aren’t enough to knock this Green Beret off that mission.’
Because of these threats, the family said, the two children had been living with their grandparents in the Hickory, about 57 miles northwest of Charlotte, for much of the campaign cycle.
Harrigan, who was not present at the time, owns a property near the home where the shooting occurred. No injuries were reported.
His opponent, meanwhile, Democrat Jeff Jackson, has been forced to pull an ad where he stood outside his opponent’s home. An investigation has been underway since, but cops and federal agents have so far failed to make an arrest.
A bullet landed just a few feet from where Pat Harrigan’s children were sleeping during the shooting on October 18 in Hickory, North Carolina. He is running as a Republican in North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District
The congressional candidate’s children, aged 3 and 5, were asleep in the bedroom directly above the room where the shooting occurred, with the bullet coming from a densely wooded area behind the house, piercing a window but not waking the kids
Harrigan, a former Green Beret, has since said not be intimidated by the shooting, and that ‘death threats aren’t enough to knock this Green Beret off that mission’
Harrigan’s mother, Marla Harrigan, 74, told The Associated Press Thursday that she and her husband James Harrigan were sitting down in their living room when the bullet entered the residence, shattering their laundry room window in the process.
The grandmother said the children were asleep in the bedroom directly above the room where the shooting occurred, but remained asleep despite the commotion.
The couple would then quickly call local police, who descended on residence in full, confirming in a report that the incident did involve a firearm before calling in the FBI.
According to Marla, the kids had have since been relocated out-of-state ‘out of an abundance of caution after the shooting,’ she said, with her Army veteran son now urging them to leave town as well.
Harriga, is running against fellow soldier Jackson, a veteran of the Army Reserve, for an open seat in the state’s new 14th congressional district, which is notoriously left-leaning.
Harrigan’s daughters with wife Raquel, aged five and three, have since been relocated out-of-state ‘out of an abundance of caution after the shooting,’ the family said
In a statement Thursday, Harrigan said his opponent’s politics have led to “rising inflation, economic ruin, & rampant crime—including political violence.
The FBI are now testing ballistics of a bullet that went through the window, WBT news reported.
Last month Harrigan claimed the race had become so heated that he wears a bulletproof vest to campaign events and had received death threats.
‘As I travel, wherever my family is located, they are significantly less safe with me in this race,’ Harrigan wrote in the letter obtained by the Charlotte Observer. ‘And they are even less safe now that you’ve shown one of my homes to the world.’
Harrigan tweeted about the incident saying: ‘Jeff Jackson’s politics lead to rising inflation, economic ruin, & rampant crime–including political violence.
‘My mission is a better economy, less inflation & safe streets. A bullet & death threats aren’t enough to knock this Green Beret off that mission.
It is the latest attack on a politician member or their family in the run-up to the midterms.
Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul was beaten with a hammer in his San Francisco home last Friday, New Hampshire Senate candidate Don Bolduc said a suspect tried to punch him before a debate on Wednesday night and a man tried to stab New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin on stage.
Biden condemned political violence in a divisive speech from Union Station in Washington D.C. on Wednesday night.
Former Green Beret Harrigan (left) is running for North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District against Democrat Jeff Jackson (right) in a tense race
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