25-9-2024 (ARIZONA) The campaign office of Vice President Kamala Harris in Tempe, Arizona, has become the target of a shooting incident, local police confirmed yesterday. This alarming development comes just over a week after a thwarted assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, raising concerns about the safety of high-profile political figures in the run-up to the upcoming election.
The Tempe Police Department reported that several bullets were fired at the Democratic National Committee campaign office near Southern Avenue and Priest Drive sometime after midnight on Monday. The damage was discovered when staff arrived at the premises later that morning.
Public Information Officer Sgt. Ryan Cook stated, “While fortunately no one was inside the office during the overnight hours, this incident raises serious concerns about the safety of the staff working in that building and those in the vicinity.”
Detectives are currently scouring the scene for evidence and have implemented additional security measures to protect staff and local residents. This marks the second instance of criminal damage to the office in as many weeks, with a previous incident involving what appeared to be a BB gun or pellet gun occurring on 16th September.
As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with either incident, and authorities are exploring all possible motives behind these attacks.
The shooting at Harris’ campaign office follows closely on the heels of a second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course on 15th September. In that incident, a 58-year-old Hawaii resident, Ryan Routh, was apprehended after a Secret Service agent spotted the muzzle of a semiautomatic rifle protruding from nearby bushes.
Vice President Harris is scheduled to visit Arizona for a campaign event on Friday, marking her second trip to this crucial swing state since her nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August. Her campaign has not yet disclosed the specific city she will be visiting.
Recent polls indicate a virtual tie between Harris and Trump in Arizona, with just six weeks remaining until Election Day. The state, which Trump won in 2016, was narrowly flipped by President Biden in 2020 by a margin of less than 11,000 votes – the smallest in any state that year.
