Two individuals were shot outside U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin's Long Island home on Sunday according to local authorities and Zeldin, who is also the GOP nominee challenging Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul in November's midterms.
According to the county officials, however, the shooting that took place was "unrelated to the residents" based on the information they had on Sunday.
Suffolk County authorities said that the shooting took place at roughly 2:20 p.m. Sunday. Zeldin confirmed the incident outside of his home in Shirley on Long Island and noted that his twin teenage daughters were home at the time.
"My 16-year-old daughters, Mikayla and Arianna, were at our house doing homework, while my wife, Diana, and I were in the car, having just departed the Bronx Columbus Day Parade in Morris Park," Zeldin said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
"After my daughters heard the gunshots and the screaming, they ran upstairs, locked themselves in the bathroom and immediately called 911," Zeldin added. "They acted very swiftly and smartly every step of the way and Diana and I are extremely proud of them."
Zeldin also said that the two people injured in the incident were "laying down under my front porch" and in "the bushes in front of our porch."
C) Zeldin: The two individuals who were shot were laying down under my front porch and the bushes in front of our porch. My understanding is that they have been transported to area hospitals. I do not know their identities.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 9, 2022
Law enforcement is investigating and Zeldin said the identities and motive of the two individuals are still unknown to him but that his family was working with investigators to turn over security camera footage to help them identify the individuals and what they were doing on Zeldin's property before the shooting occurred.
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"My daughters are shaken, but ok," Zeldin said before noting that, "like so many New Yorkers, crime has literally made its way to our front door" and said his family "is grateful to all who have reached out and we will provide another update when we can."
Earlier in the campaign, Zeldin was assaulted while on stage delivering remarks by a man who brandished a weapon and repeatedly attempted to stab the sitting member of Congress and candidate for governor. As Leah reported at the time, Gov. Hochul took heat for her fiery rhetoric against Zeldin that included publishing the Republican candidate's campaign stop schedule.
Hochul had not, at time of publication, posted any statements in response to the incident outside her GOP challenger's home.
This is a developing story and may be updated with additional information.
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