GOP nominee for New York governor reports two people shot outside his home

New York Congressman and Republican candidate for governor Lee Zeldin reported two teenagers were shot outside of his home on Long Island over the weekend. While he was not home at the time, Rep. Zeldin described the experience in a statement Sunday.

“After my daughters heard the gunshots and the screaming, they ran upstairs, locked themselves in the bathroom and immediately called 911 … the two individuals who were shot were laying down under my front porch and the bushes in front of our porch,” Zeldin said. “My daughters are shaken, but ok.”

Police said the wounded teens’ injuries were not life-threatening. Both were treated at an area hospital. Police had no information to release about who fired the shots, a department spokeswoman said.

The teenagers shot outside of Zeldin’s home was not his first brush with danger. Back in July, he was attacked and nearly stabbed at a campaign event. He took this weekend’s incident a chance to focus on the larger picture of crime in New York.

“I’m standing in front of crime scene tape in front of my own house. You can’t get me any more outraged than right now,” Zeldin said. “Like so many New Yorkers, crime has literally made its way to our front door.”

Zeldin has made violent crime a focus of his campaign, as polls have it as one of the most important issues to American voters ahead of the midterm elections. He has called for the state’s bail laws to be toughened, among other measures. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Zeldin’s Democratic opponent, commented on the shooting Sunday.

“I’ve been briefed on the shooting outside of Congressman Zeldin’s home,” Gov. Hochul tweeted. As we await more details, I’m relieved to hear the Zeldin family is safe and grateful for law enforcement’s quick response.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.