Shots damage Democratic campaign office in Arizona

TEMPE, Arizona. — Police were stationed outside a Democratic Party campaign office in a quiet strip mall in suburban Phoenix on Wednesday after two shootings last week targeted the office’s door and windows.

Tempe police have not yet identified any suspects or determined a motive, but questions swirl as party officials fear for their safety.

This year’s election campaign has already been overshadowed by political violence: Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, was assassinated twice – once during a campaign rally and the other time on a golf course in Florida.

The US House of Representatives acknowledged the repeated threats and voted just last week that the US Secret Service should apply the same standards when assigning agents to key presidential candidates as it does when assigning presidents and vice presidents.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, will embark on a campaign tour of the southwestern United States this weekend, with stops near the Arizona border on Friday and in the swing state of Nevada on Sunday.

Lindsay Bailey had planned to take a Harris sign with her when she visited the campaign office in Tempe with her 17-year-old daughter on Wednesday. The office was empty and the windows were riddled with bullet holes.

“There is a huge divide in this country, and it’s scary,” said Bailey, a 47-year-old nurse.

Tempe police are investigating the damage to the mall as a property crime. The campaign office, which formerly housed a hair salon, is near a daycare center and a fitness center.

In the first shooting on Sept. 16, the office was hit with shotgun pellets or BB guns, authorities said. As with the Sept. 23 shooting, no one was in the building at the time and there were no injuries, said Sergeant Ryan Cook, a Tempe police spokesman.

The Tempe location is one of 18 Harris field offices in Arizona.

The current political climate worries 29-year-old Alexis Maher, who works at a nearby home furnishings store.

“That makes me think that this election season is going to be pretty scary if things don’t go the way these people want them to,” Maher said.

Detectives are analyzing evidence collected at the scene and Cook said “additional measures” are being taken to ensure the safety of staff and others in the area.

Cook said police are investigating “all possible motives.” He did not provide any details about the type of weapon used in the second shooting. He also did not say whether there might be surveillance camera footage from the two nights in question.

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Gabriel Sandoval is a member of 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 under-reported issues.