Following news that gunshot fired at parents’ home, Republican candidate Harrigan speaks

HICKORY, N.C. (WBTV) - A day after news broke that a gunshot had been fired at his parents’ home in Hickory, Republican congressional candidate Pat Harrigan spoke to WBTV about the incident.

Harrigan is currently vying for a seat in North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District.

The alleged incident happened in October. Harrigan recounted the situation for WBTV.

“My parents were sitting enjoying TV at 11 o’clock at night when a bullet ripped through a window in their home and they happened to be watching my kids that night and my kids were 20 feet away from where that bullet impacted,” explained Harrigan.

Harrigan said he was not sure who was responsible for firing the shot and said he has been in communication with the Hickory Police Department about the shooting.

Harrigan is currently running against Democrat Jeff Jackson, a state senator, for a spot in Congress.

On Thursday Jackson pulled a campaign ad that focused on a house owned by Harrigan. The move comes weeks after police began investigating the incident that happened at Harrigan’s parents’ home.

The Jackson campaign pulled the ad from WBTV late Thursday morning. The ad centered on a lake house owned by Harrigan in Catawba County and ends with a shot of Jackson standing in front of a house on a lake.

WBTV asked Harrigan if he blames Jackson for the gunshot being fired at his parents’ home.

“I don’t know. He certainly didn’t help,” responded Harrigan. “As a former Green Beret, I’m very used to getting shot at. I’m actually ok with getting shot at. It was a part of an expectation of my life for some time. I am not okay with my family getting shot at. I do hold Jeff Jackson accountable for divisive rhetoric that has demonized my character and has allowed for the potential of crazies to latch onto his words, his motives and take that out on me and my family.”

The Republican congressional candidate said he has pulled his kids out of school and his extended family is now living out-of-state for safety reasons. He said he has also received a “very credible” death threat during the campaign.

Harrigan was also asked if he thought the shot fired at his parents’ home was politically motivated.

“Personally, I live my life on the percentages. As a green beret, I don’t believe in coincidence. There’s too much going on here. Bullets just don’t rip through your home at 11 o’clock at night when there kid, me, is running for congress, is under a very active and credible death threat and my kids are upstairs 20 feet away. The chances of this, the odds are far too long,” stated Harrigan.

The Republican candidate said he is glad Jackson pulled the ad about his home off the air, but he said he’d still like Jackson to denounce his entire campaign.

WBTV reached out to Jackson’s team requesting an interview Friday but was told Jackson was unavailable Friday afternoon. Jackson’s team referred WBTV to a statement about the advertisement and gunshot incident the state senator posted on social media earlier today.

“Yesterday I learned about an event that happened three weeks ago. It appears that someone - who has yet to be identified - fired a shot into the home of my opponent’s parents. It was absolutely an act of violence and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” Jackson wrote in a tweet.

The Democrat pointed out that while a British tabloid got the story wrong, several local media outlets correctly reported the story.

“My opponent has since made a statement in which he calls this “political violence.” While there’s no evidence for that, I share his concern that political rhetoric is often far too hot. I hope he’ll reconsider his ad claiming I support domestic terrorism, which runs daily,” Jackson added in another tweet.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 8.

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