The two victims were both 17-year-old boys from Long Island.
Two teenagers were shot in a drive-by shooting outside a New York Republican congressman and gubernatorial candidate’s suburban home.
Congressman Lee Zeldin was on his way home from a campaign event in the Bronx when an unknown number of shooters opened fire from a car at two teenagers outside his Long Island home on Sunday afternoon.
The two victims were both 17-year-old boys. They were taken to area hospitals for treatment. A third person was with them, but they took off running.
The teens were from Mastic and Mastic Beach, towns situated on Long Island’s South Shore, just east of Zeldin’s home in Shirley.
Zeldin and his wife, Diana, were both on their way home from the Bronx Columbus Day Parade in Morris Park. Their twin daughters, Mikayla and Arianna, were at home doing homework when the teens were shot on the street outside.
‘After my daughters heard the gunshots and the screaming, they ran upstairs, locked themselves in the bathroom and immediately called 911,’ Zeldin said. They acted very swiftly and smartly every step of the way and Diana and I are extremely proud of them.’
According to Zeldin, the two injured boys hid from the shooters under his front porch and in the bushes in his front yard. He also said he was providing law enforcement with video from his home security cameras.
‘My daughters are shaken, but ok,’ the congressman said. ‘Like so many New Yorkers, crime has literally made its way to our front door. My family is grateful to all who have reached out and we will provide another update when we can.’
Zeldin’s opponent, incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul, said she was briefed on the situation. ‘I’m relieved to hear the Zeldin family is safe and grateful for law enforcement’s quick response,’ Hochul said on Twitter.
Zeldin’s home in Shirley, New York is located in Long Island’s eastern Suffolk County, which is famously home to tony shore communities in the Hamptons and Montauk.
Suffolk County saw 80 total shootings in 2021, killing 18 people, according to data published by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. There have been 47 shootings and 12 deaths so far in 2022, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
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