HICKORY, N.C. — A recent shooting at the Hickory, North Carolina, residence of GOP congressional candidate Pat Harrigan’s parents, who were watching his young children, caused no injuries but has placed “tremendous stress” on the family in the final weeks of his campaign, Harrigan’s mother said.
At an early voting site four days before Election Day, Harrigan told WCNC's Jane Monreal, "They heard a crack, which was the bullet entering through a window of their home. And my kids were sleeping about 20 feet away."
The firearms manufacturer and U.S. Army Special Forces veteran is running against Democratic state Sen. Jeff Jackson for an open U.S. House seat in North Carolina’s new 14th District based in western Charlotte.
A Hickory Police Department spokesperson said the department has not made arrests related to the incident and that the investigation is ongoing.
Marla Harrigan, 74, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she and her husband James Harrigan were watching television down the hall when a bullet shattered their laundry room window on the night of Oct. 18. The Hickory Police Department responded to their 911 call and noted in the police report that the incident involved a firearm.
Harrigan said this latest incident at his parents' home is disconcerting, following a credible death threat that happened over the summer.
He said, "I've had to move all of them out of state for their own safety. That's frustrating."
Jackson took to Twitter Friday morning, following the news of the shooting.
He said, "Yesterday I learned about an event that happened three weeks ago. It appears that someone - who has yet to be identified - fired a shot into the home of my opponent's parents. It was absolutely an act of violence and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms."
Harrigan told WCNC he's surprised the campaign trail has been a divisive experience.
"It's actually it's the demonization of character in this country is a very real problem, right? We live in a constitutional republic," the former Green Beret said. "Our government is simply just a reflection of ourselves. This violence that we're seeing in our politics will start to trickle down, and impact all of us in society. And our society is about to become more violent if we continue down this course of removing political discourse, removing talking about the things that matter."
Jackson wrote on Twitter, "My opponent has since made a statement in which he calls this "political violence." While there's no evidence for that, I share his concern that political rhetoric is often far too hot. I hope he’ll reconsider his ad claiming I support domestic terrorism, which runs daily."]
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