The home of the parents and children of Pat Harrigan, a Republican candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives, was shot at in an incident without injuries that caused “immense stress” in the final weeks of the campaign.
Harrigan, a firearms manufacturer and US Army Special Forces veteran, is running against Democratic Senator Jeff Jackson for a House seat in North Carolina’s new 14th District, based in Charlotte, in the west.
This district came about after a lengthy readjustment battle, during which North Carolina redrawn its congressional map to accommodate the additional seat it received after the 2020 census.
Political analysts say the 2022 map favors Republicans in seven of the state’s 14 districts and favors Democrats in six.
Marla Harrigan, 74, explained Thursday to the Associated Press (AP) agency that she was watching television with her husband, James Harrigan, when a bullet hit the house on October 18.
The Hickory Police Department responded to the emergency call and noted a firearm-related incident in the report.
The congressional candidate’s children, ages 3 and 5, were sleeping in the bedroom above the one who was beaten, Marla Harrigan said.
The bullet was fired from a heavily wooded area and did not wake the children.
Harrigan’s two children have been living with their grandparents in Hickory, about 60 miles northwest of Charlotte, for much of the campaign.
Since the incident, they have been moved out of the state “very carefully,” added Marla Harrigan, adding that her son also asked his parents to leave town.
Hickory Police Department spokeswoman Kristen Hart said no arrests have been made in connection with this incident and the investigation is ongoing.
Harrigan’s campaign spokesman Jordan Shaw said the Republican candidate also received numerous death threats, which were forwarded to police to help with the investigation.
In a statement, Harrigan said he was “focused on rebuilding the economy, lowering prices and keeping the streets safe.”
“It will take more than a bullet and death threats to get this Green Beret off this mission,” he said.
Source: TSF
