Shooting occurred near the house of New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin: his daughters are very scared

Two young men were shot on October 9 near the home of New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin. His teenage daughters were at home at that moment and were very scared, reports New York Post.

“My daughters Mikayla and Arianna did their homework on the first floor. They heard shots. The girls went upstairs and locked themselves in the bathroom. They were shocked,” the politician said of his 16-year-old daughters. “One of the bullets was found 9 meters from where my daughters were doing their homework.”

Detectives are investigating the shooting and are still looking for the shooter or shooters. Zeldin, who made rising crime one of the main themes of his campaign, told a press conference that he was "furious" about what had happened.

“I'm standing in front of a crime scene tape in front of my own house,” he said, standing next to his family. “It’s impossible to piss me off more than now.”

Although the shooting took place very close to Zeldin's house, it had nothing to do with politics. One of the two 17-year-old victims jumped over the congressman's fence in an attempt to avoid being shot. And at the same time he overturned the sign “Zeldin - to the governors!”.

Sources said one guy was shot in the chest and another in the arm.

The injured teenagers have long been known to the local police department, they were involved in car thefts. Zeldin said the victims were taken to Long Island Community Hospital. He added that his front porch is now part of the crime scene: "Local police cordoned off the area."

“You take it to heart when it happens on your doorstep,” Zeldin said at a briefing outside his home.

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A law enforcement source said that the politician's property had the blood of one of the victims.

“Crime is out of control,” Zeldin said in a statement. “Like many New Yorkers, crime has literally reached our doorstep. There was blood on the stone right next to the porch. One of the victims of the shooting was under the porch. The other guy was under the bushes near the porch.”

Zeldin said that he and his wife Diana were not at home at the time of the incident.

The daughters of the politician called 911 around 14:20 pm on October 9

“My daughters are shocked, but they are fine,” Zeldin said. “My family is grateful to everyone who turned to me. And we will provide an update when we can.”

The Suffolk County Police Department said detectives were investigating the shooting. And confirmed that two people were hospitalized for treatment of their injuries.

Zeldin said he didn't know who the two guys were or what was the motive for the shooting.

“Law enforcement is currently in our house,” he said. “My whole family is at home, working with investigators and providing surveillance footage, from our home cameras.”

The congressman said he looked at his home's CCTV footage and noticed three men on them at the time of the crime.

Zeldina's neighbor said she was shocked by the shooting that took place in their neighborhood.

“It's actually a really quiet area. So that something like this happened here is really nerve-wracking,” said Sonia Gonzalez, 30. “I’m glad that everything is in order there, because his daughters were at home.”

Zeldin seeks to remove Democratic incumbent Governor Kathy Hokul from office and vows to fight crime resolutely.

Hokul tweeted on October 9 that she had been briefed about the shooting near Zeldin's house.

“I am glad to hear that the Zeldin family is safe. And I am grateful to law enforcement agencies for the quick response,” she said.