Shooting at NC-14 GOP candidate Pat Harrigan’s home, family uninjured | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is Zach Rounceville.

    Carolina Journal has learned that on Oct. 18, a shooting took place at the residence of GOP congressional candidate Pat Harrigan, who is running against Democrat state Sen. Jeff Jackson in NC's 14th congressional district.

    CJ spoke with Harrigan campaign manager Brandon Craft, who said that someone shot into the Hickory residence and that the investigation has been on-going since that time. Harrigan owns the home, which is currently occupied by his parents. Craft said that Harrigan's children were in the home when the incident occurred and the shot entered only a few feet from where the children were sleeping.

    Hickory Police Department (HPD) responded to the incident and noted the crime was perpetrated with a firearm. Kristen Hart, a spokeswoman for HPD, told CJ that the department does not have any arrests or updates related to the incident as of publication date.

    "No one was injured, but the officers investigating did find evidence of a bullet casing which is being looked into," Hart said.

    The investigators tasked with overseeing the incident could not be reached for comment. According to Craft, the investigation is now being handled in a coordinated effort between local, state, and federal officials.

    The event comes in the midst of a fairly negative campaign between the two NC-14 candidates, with Harrigan recently challenging Jackson to a debate in an open letter and Jackson questioning Harrigan's residency in NC-14. While residency in the district is not required for congressional races, some voters consider it a negative if a candidate resides outside.

    Tensions are high across the country, as well, with less than a week left until Election Day. This incident is just one in a pattern of recent attacks involving other elected officials, candidates, and their families, notably the attack on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi; a shooting at New York GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin's home; and a reported assault of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Bolduc of New Hampshire at a campaign event Nov. 2.