Current:Home > FinanceConcerns linger after gunfire damages Arizona Democratic campaign office -Summit Capital Strategies
Concerns linger after gunfire damages Arizona Democratic campaign office
View
Date:2025-04-19 04:24:04
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Police were posted outside a Democratic Party campaign office in a quiet suburban strip mall in the Phoenix area Wednesday after two shootings at the office door and windows over the past week.
Tempe police have yet to identify suspects or a motive, but questions are swirling as party workers worry about their safety.
Political violence already has marred this year’s campaign season, with former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, being targeted by two assassination attempts — one at a campaign rally and the other at a Florida golf course.
Acknowledging repeated threats, the U.S. House voted just last week to require the U.S. Secret Service to use the same standards when assigning agents to major presidential candidates as they do presidents and vice presidents.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, will be making a campaign swing through the Southwestern U.S. over the weekend with stops near the Arizona border on Friday and in the swing state of Nevada on Sunday.
Lindsay Bailey was expecting to pick up a Harris yard sign when she and her 17-year-old daughter visited the campaign office in Tempe on Wednesday. The office was empty and its front windows were perforated with bullet holes.
“There’s a major division within this country, and it’s scary,” said Bailey, a 47-year-old nurse.
Tempe police are investigating the damage at the strip mall as a property crime. Once home to a barber shop, the campaign office is near a daycare and a fitness center.
In the first shooting on Sept. 16, authorities reported that pellet or BB gun rounds hit the office. As with the gunfire reported Sept. 23, no one was inside the building at the time and there were no injuries, said Sgt. Ryan Cook, a spokesman for the Tempe Police Department.
The Tempe location is one of 18 Harris field offices in Arizona.
The current political climate worries Alexis Maher, 29, who works at a nearby home furnishing store.
“It just leads me to think that if something doesn’t go the way that those people want it to go that this election season is going to be kind of scary,” Maher said.
Detectives are analyzing evidence collected from the scene, and Cook said “additional measures” were being taken to ensure the safety of staff and others in the area.
Cook said police are investigating “all possible motives.” He didn’t provide any more details about the type of weapon used in the second shooting or whether there might have been security camera footage from either of the two nights at issue.
___
Gabriel Sandoval is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
veryGood! (52)
Related
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- How to clean the inside of your refrigerator and get rid of those pesky odors
- Horoscopes Today, March 30, 2024
- Shoplifter chased by police on horses in New Mexico, video shows
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- First they tried protests of anti-gay bills. Then students put on a play at Louisiana’s Capitol
- Who's hosting 'SNL' tonight? Cast, musical guest, where to watch March 30 episode
- Lizzo speaks out against 'lies being told about me': 'I didn't sign up for this'
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Small plane crash kills 2 people in California near Nevada line, police say
Ranking
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Kia recalls over 427,000 Telluride SUVs because they might roll away while parked
- Vague school rules at the root of millions of student suspensions
- Majority of U.S. bridges lack impact protection. After the Key Bridge collapse, will anything change?
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Virginia Seeks Millions of Dollars in Federal Funds Aimed at Reducing Pollution and Electrifying Transportation and Buildings
- Connecticut blitzes Illinois and continues March Madness domination with trip to Final Four
- Powerball winning numbers for March 30, 2024 drawing: Jackpot rises to $935 million
Recommendation
Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
'She's put us all on a platform': Black country artists on Beyoncé's new album open up
Former US Rep. William Delahunt of Massachusetts has died at age 82
Idaho man Chad Daybell to be tried for 3 deaths including children who were called ‘zombies’
Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
Horoscopes Today, March 29, 2024
Everything's Bigger: See the Texas Rangers' World Series rings by Jason of Beverly Hills
Biden says he'll visit Baltimore next week as response to bridge collapse continues