Two people were shot outside the Long Island home of Representative Lee Zeldin on Sunday while his 16-year-old daughters were home alone, the GOP New York gubernatorial candidate said Sunday.
“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.
He continued: “After my daughters heard the gunshots and the screaming, they ran upstairs, locked themselves in the bathroom and immediately called 911. They acted very swiftly and smartly every step of the way and Diana and I are extremely proud of them.”
Zeldin said the incident occurred around 2:18 p.m. outside of his home in Shirley.
“They’re freaked out,” Zeldin told the New York Post of his daughters, adding that one of the bullets was found just 30 feet from where they were doing their homework.
Thank you to all who reached out with your concern regarding the 2 people shot this afternoon outside my home. Mikayla and Arianna were at the kitchen table doing homework. One of the bullets landed just 30 feet from them. They acted very swiftly and smartly in response. pic.twitter.com/PMw3u5ic17
— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) October 9, 2022
Zeldin told the paper that his front porch is now a part of the crime scene.
A law-enforcement source told the New York Post that the shooting had “nothing to do with him” and “just happens to be irony” that the shooting happened in front of the home of the gubernatorial candidate, who is campaigning as tough on crime. Detectives are investigating the shooting as gang-related, sources reportedly told the paper.
One of the victims was shot in the chest, and the other was grazed, according to the report. One of the victims jumped over the Zeldins’ fence and knocked over a Zeldin for governor campaign sign.
The two people who were shot were taken to Long Island Community Hospital for treatment of their injuries, according to the report.
“Crime is out of control,” Zeldin said in his statement. “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 added. “One of the shooting victims was underneath the porch. The other was underneath bushes near the porch.”
Zeldin said he did not know the two men and did not know what motivated the shooting.
“Law enforcement is currently at our house,” he said in the statement. “My entire family is at home working with the investigators and providing the security footage from our home cameras.”
In July, a man attempted to attack Zeldin at a campaign event in upstate New York, jumping on stage and raising his arm toward the congressman while holding a keychain with two sharp points.
“You’re done,” David Jakubonis said repeatedly as he approached Zeldin, who was able to grab the man’s wrist. The pair wrestled to the ground, and audience members jumped in to detain the attacker.
Jakubonis faces a federal count of assaulting a member of Congress with a dangerous weapon.