Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., the New York GOP gubernatorial nominee, says that two people were shot outside his Long Island home on Sunday.
Suffolk County Police tell Fox News that the shooting happened around 2:20 p.m. on Sunday in Shirley on Long Island. Zeldin said in a statement that his two 16-year-old daughters were inside the home when the shooting happened. At the time, the gubernatorial candidate had just departed the Bronx Columbus Day Parade in Morris Park.
“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.
Zeldin added that his daughters locked themselves in a bathroom when they heard the gunshots and called 911.
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“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,” he said.
Zeldin said in a tweet that one of the bullets landed just 30 feet from his two daughters.
The two people injured in the shooting, according to Zeldin, were “laying down under my front porch and the bushes in front of our porch.”
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“My understanding is that they have been transported to area hospitals. I do not know their identities,” Zeldin said. “Law enforcement is currently at our house. My entire family is at home working with the investigators and providing the security footage from our home cameras.”
In a statement, the Suffolk County Police Department said that two teenagers were injured in a drive-by shooting on Zeldin’s street.
Three teenagers were walking down Zeldin’s street when someone in a dark-colored SUV fired multiple gunshots through the car’s window at 2:19 p.m., injuring two 17-year-old males. The two males attempted to hide in the yard of what’s presumed to be Zeldin’s residence after being shot.
According to the police department, the third teenager fled the scene.
The two injured 17-year-old males were taken to a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
Zeldin said that his daughters are “shaken, but ok.”
“Like so many New Yorkers, crime has literally made its way to our front door. My family is grateful to all who have reached out and we will provide another update when we can,” Zeldin said.
The Suffolk County Police Department also said that the incident is “unrelated to the residents of the house.”
Throughout Zeldin’s campaign, he has hit Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul on the issue of crime.
“She’s been pandering to pro-criminal allies and she’s been on the wrong side of these issues one after the other,” Zeldin told Harris Faulkner. “Kathy Hochul can’t confront this head-on because she hasn’t actually been doing anything about it.”
During a July campaign stop in Perinton, New York, Zeldin was attacked by an individual who allegedly pulled out a sharp object.
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One witness to the July incident told Fox News Digital that people thought initially that the alleged attacker was trying to fix a flag that was out of place.
“Most people thought the guy was trying to go fix like the speaker or the flag, but then someone screamed ‘stop him, he’s not with them,’ and then that whole like wrestling match happened,” Ian Winner said.
Hochul said that she was briefed on the shooting, and is “relieved to hear the Zeldin family is safe.”
“I’ve been briefed on the shooting outside of Congressman Zeldin’s home. As we await more details, I’m relieved to hear the Zeldin family is safe and grateful for law enforcement’s quick response,” Hochul said.
