GOP candidate Pat Harrigan's children in hiding after they came close to being shot in North Carolina home
HICKORY, NORTH CAROLINA: After the shooting at the home of Republician congressional canditate and ex-soldier, Pat Harrigan on October 18, he has been forced to send his children out of state and into hiding. Now reports say, with a slew of death threats he is facing, he has been wearing a bulletproof vest on his campaign trail ever since the shooting incident.
Harrigan is running for an open seat in the state's left-leaning 14th Congressional District against primary opponent Democrat Jeff Jackson. Jackson's ad campaign showing Harrigan's property was reportedly aired on Oct 18, the day the shooting occured, and has since been removed from airing after FBI revealed it has launched an investigation into the shooting on Thursday, November 3.
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A bullet was found just a feet away from Harrigana's daughters, aged 3 and 5, when they had been sleeping, as per the report by Daily Mail. With Harrigan, 35, and his loved ones under "tremendous pressure," the children have been living away from their parents for much of the campaign cycle. Police are yet to make any arrests. But investigations are taking into account the political ad by Harrigan's rival Jackson, which shockingly featured the lakeside property in the town of Hickory which Harrigana has said belongs to him, After the shooting, the ad was removed from syndication.
Pat Harrigan's mother, Marla Harrigan, 74, as per one report has said that "the kids have been relocated out-of-state, out of abundance of caution after shooting." For Marla, the campaign has been stressful and the family badly feels for Pat. 'It's just disconcerting, especially with the children there," said Marla, adding, "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."
The investigative agencies have said that they bullet had come from the densely wooded area behind the house. The shooting comes amid heightened concerns for the security of politicians ahead of next week's midterms, following Friday's attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's 82-year-old husband at their San Francisco home.