Two teenagers were shot this weekend outside the home of Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), the Republican candidate for governor of New York.
In a statement on Sunday, Zeldin confirmed a shooting occurred outside his residence in Shirley, New York. His 16-year-old daughters were at home doing homework at the time, while he and his wife were in the car after leaving a Columbus Day parade, the congressman said.
"After my daughters heard the gunshots and the screaming, they ran upstairs, locked themselves in the bathroom and immediately called 911," Zeldin said, adding that they are "shaken, but ok."
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Zeldin, who is challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in New York's gubernatorial race, continued that the two people who were shot "were laying down under my front porch and the bushes in front of our porch" and have been transferred to the hospital. "My entire family is at home working with the investigators and providing the security footage from our home cameras," he said.
Police confirmed two teenagers were shot from a moving car near Zeldin's home and that they tried to hide in the congressman's yard, The Associated Press reports. The injuries were reportedly not life-threatening, and the Suffolk County Police Department said "investigators have no reason to believe there is any connection between the shooting and the residence."
"Like so many New Yorkers, crime has literally made its way to our front door," Zeldin said.
Hochul said on Twitter she is "relieved to hear the Zeldin family is safe and grateful for law enforcement's quick response."
This comes after Zeldin was attacked by a man "brandishing a sharp object" while campaigning in July. President Biden at the time condemned the attack "in the strongest terms," as "violence has absolutely no place in our society or our politics."
