FBI investigate as shots fired at family home of midterms candidate, reports say

The FBI has launched an investigation into a shooting incident last month at the home of a North Carolina Republican candidate running for Congress in the midterm elections, according to a report.On 18 October, shots were fired at the home of the parents of Pat Harrigan, a former Green Beret, while the Republican’s children were inside the home, his campaign manager Brandon Craft told The Carolina Journal.The FBI is involved in the investigation, reported WBT News and the Daily Mail, which cited a police department spokesperson.Harrigan’s campaign, however, has not confirmed that the law enforcement agency is involved.Mr Harrigan was not at home at the time of the attack but the shots entered just a few feet away from where his children, ages three and five, were sleeping, according to the report.Mr Harrigan, a firearms manufacturer and US Army Special Forces veteran, is running against Democrat state senator Jeff Jackson in North Carolina’s 14th congressional district.The shooting incident was revealed at a time when tensions are rising among US politicians over political attacks amid increasing threats against lawmakers.Issuing an intelligence bulletin on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies warned political candidates of a heightened risk of violence.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s house was attacked by a hammer-wielding man last week. The attack left her husband, Paul Pelosi, 82, hospitalised and facing a lengthy recovery.Marla Harrigan, 74, mother of the Republican candidate, told the Associated Press on Thursday that she and her husband James Harrigan were watching television down the hall when a bullet shattered their laundry room window on the night of 18 October.The Hickory police department responded to their 911 call and noted in their report that the incident involved a firearm.No one was injured in the attack at Mr Harrigan’s family home, Kristen Hart, a spokeswoman for the police department said.Jordan Shaw, a spokesperson for the Harrigan campaign, said the congressional candidate is receiving numerous death threats, which they’ve submitted to the police to aid their investigation.’I’m focused on fixing the economy, lowering prices and keeping our streets safe,’ Mr Harrigan said in a statement on Thursday. ‘And it’ll take more than a bullet and death threats to knock this Green Beret off that mission.’