Authorities in North Carolina are investigating a shooting that happened last month at the Hickory home of the parents of Republican congressional candidate Pat Harrigan, according to his family.
Harrigan’s children, aged 3 and 5, were sleeping at the home when the shooting transpired on Oct. 18, Marla, Harrigan’s 74-year-old mother, said on Nov. 3.
Marla confirmed that nobody was injured in the shooting, but it has placed “tremendous stress” on the family in the final weeks of Harrigan’s campaign.
Kristen Hart, a spokeswoman for the Hickory Police Department, said authorities have not made an arrest in relation to the incident. Hart confirmed a bullet casing was found and noted in a police report that the incident involved a firearm.
Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Harrigan campaign manager Brandon Craft told The Carolina Journal that the unknown shooter’s bullet entered just a few feet from where the children were sleeping.
Marla said that since the shooting transpired, Harrigan has relocated his children out of state “out of an abundance of caution” while he also urged his parents to do the same.
“It’s just disconcerting, especially with the children there,” Marla said. “This campaign is so stressful, and we feel so badly for our son because, you know, he’s terribly stressed about his children … and now they’re gone, they’re not with their parents and it’s just very, very disruptive.”
Harrigan, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, is running in North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District against State Sen. Jeff Jackson, a Democrat.
‘Targeting Family Domiciles Crosses a Line’
In a statement on Nov. 3, Harrigan mentioned the incident, saying Jackson’s policies have led to “rising inflation, economic ruin, [and] rampant crime—including political violence.”
“I’m focused on fixing the economy, lowering prices, and keeping our streets safe,” Harrigan said. “And it’ll take more than a bullet and death threats to knock this Green Beret off that mission.”
In an open letter to Jackson on Oct. 27, Harrigan expressed “firm and sincere disappointment” in his Democrat opponent, saying he “violated [his] family’s security” after filming a political ad in front of his Hickory home in late September.
An open letter to Jeff Jackson.#ncpol pic.twitter.com/wzoIKdFroq
— PatHarriganNC (@PatHarriganNC) October 26, 2022
“The ad went too far because targeting family domiciles crosses a line. Family is stretched thin on campaigns—and you violated my family’s security,” part of Harrigan’s lengthy letter reads.
“I have already received a credible death threat. I wear a low-profile bulletproof vest to every single major public event,” it continued. “As I travel, wherever my family is located, they are significantly less safe with me in this race. And they are even less safe now that you’ve shown one of my homes to the world.”
“There are many questions that I have about you, your taxes, former home, current home, and your personal life. But I’m never going to film an ad in front of your home, violating the sanctity and security of your family—putting their lives at risk. It just doesn’t seem like the ‘honest and decent thing to do,” the letter concluded.
Jackson, meanwhile, has taken off air the political ad where he stood outside Harrigan’s family home after the GOP candidate accused him of promoting political violence. The ad aired on a number of Charlotte TV stations.
The race between Harrigan and Jackson is expected to be a close contest in the state’s newly created 14th District, which covers most of Charlotte and its southern and western suburbs.
Political analysts say the 2022 map favors Republicans in seven of the state’s 14 districts and favors Democrats in six, with one toss-up district in the Raleigh suburbs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.