(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), now running for New York governor, was shaken and outraged on Sunday by a shooting at the very doorstep of his home in Suffolk County.
He explained what happened shortly after 2 p.m., after thanking everyone who expressed concern:
"My 16-year-old daughters, Mikayla and Arianna, were at our house doing homework, while my wife, Diana, and I were in the car, having just departed the Bronx Columbus Day Parade in Morris Park.
"After my daughters heard the gunshots and the screaming, they ran upstairs, locked themselves in the bathroom and immediately called 911. They acted very swiftly and smartly every step of the way, and Diana and I are extremely proud of them.
"The two individuals who were shot were laying down under my front porch and the bushes in front of our porch. My understanding is that they have been transported to area hospitals. I do not know their identities.
"Law enforcement is currently at our house. My entire family is at home working with the investigators and providing the security footage from our home cameras.
"My daughters are shaken, but ok. 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.”
In remarks to a local television crew, Zeldin said one of the bullets was found about 30 feet from where his daughters were sitting, doing their homework.
"I'm standing in front of crime scene tape in front of my own house. You can't get me more outraged than right now," he said.
Zeldin told "Mornings With Maria" on Monday that his family is not the only one to endure such horror:
“Just yesterday there were other crimes that -- somebody got stabbed on a New York City subway, someone else got slashed in the East Village. We can recap the amount of crime from the last week, week-and-a-half, and you'd think that we're recapping the amount of crime around the state over the course of the last year.
“There was a woman who was murdered last Wednesday in the Buffalo area in front of her three kids by her husband. Her husband the day before was arrested, charged with a slew of domestic violence offenses, released on cashless bail, that's on Tuesday. On Wednesday,she gets murdered in front of her three kids. She was wearing a bullet-proof vest.
“We know about Marist dad from Long Island who got shot and killed getting a cup of coffee and checking out of a hotel on parents’ weekend. The green goblin gang. The four people got stabbed -- with the knife attacks last Thursday in a period of about ten hours on a New York City subway.
“That list goes on. We do need to roll back pro criminal laws up in Albany like cashless bail and Less is More and the HALT Act because the corrections officers are being assaulted more. We do need to remove district attorneys that refuse to enforce the law, and we have to start unapologetically backing our men and women in law enforcement.
"We have to take back our streets. This is something that motivated me to get into this race in the first place. Now I have to walk through crime scene tape in order to show up at my own front doorstep yesterday?
“This is getting worse every single day, and the people in charge are not only not doing squat about it, they don't even want to talk about it. They don't want to confront this head on. As a matter of fact, they feel like they haven't gone far enough in passing pro-criminal laws.”
The shooting apparently has no connection to the Zeldin family.
A law enforcement source told CNN that two men were walking down the street when a car pulled up and opened fire. The two men ran toward Zeldin’s home as the car sped away, the source said. Both men are expected to survive their injuries, the source added.
Zeldin has made public safety a priority in his gubernatorial campaign:
His proposals include repealing cashless bail; removing district attorneys who don’t enforce the law; increasing penalties on looting businesses; enacting a law enforcement bill of rights; and hiring additional police officers statewide.
The Sunday shooting outside his home wasn't Zeldin's first experience with crime: He was attacked by a knife-wielding man at a campaign event in upstate New York in July.
"Fortunately, I was able to grab his wrist and stop him for a few moments until others tackled him," Zeldin said afterwards.