Two teenagers were shot on Sunday outside of the home of U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., who is running for governor. After being struck by gunfire, two boys, both 17, tried to hide in Zeldin’s yard by ducking under his porch and into the bushes, according to The Associated Press.
According to Zeldin, his two 16-year-old daughters were in the house doing homework, while he and his wife were on their way back from the Bronx Columbus Day Parade. In a statement on Twitter, Zeldin said “after my daughters heard the gunshots and the screaming, they ran upstairs, locked themselves in the bathroom and immediately called 911.”
According to ABC News, the two boys were walking with a third teenager down a street in Shirley, New York, when they were shot from a moving vehicle. The third person fled while the two wounded teens hid in the bushes.
“At this time investigators have no reason to believe there is any connection between the shooting and the residence,” said the Suffolk County Police Department, according to CNN.
The Suffolk County Police Department told The New York Times that the two boys were taken to the hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.
In his Twitter statement, Zeldin said “Like so many New Yorkers, crime has literally made its way to our front door.”
This was not Zeldin’s first close call. In July, he was giving a campaign speech in upstate New York when a man climbed on stage and attempted to stab the congressman, per Reuters.