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Eli Rosenberg
Generalist journalist covering national and last-minute news
A person with a gun fired at least four bullets in a Republican party office in Florida, political figures said Monday, worried about the political violence that occurred before the mid-term elections.
The Volusia County Republican Party office in South Daytona was empty at the time of the shooting and no one was injured, said South Daytona County Police Captain Mark Cheatham at the Washington Post.
A volunteer arrived at the headquarters, located in a small mall on Monday morning, to find that a front window had been broken. Police determined that the window had been opened after finding four bullets inside the office, in the wall and on the ground, Cheatham said.
Police believe that the shooting occurred between 16:00 and 16:00. Cheatham said Sunday, the last time a person was at the office, and Monday at 9 o'clock. Office photos published by online journalists show that its windows are covered with placards supporting Republican Party and GOP candidates.
Cheatham said the office had not yet confirmed his motive or identified a suspect in the shooting and had yet to find any video evidence or witnesses.
The shootings followed highly publicized events of politically motivated violence that raised concerns about whether the bitter division of the country became even more malignant.
Last week, Cesar Sayoc, a 56-year-old Florida resident, was arrested after officials said he had sent bombs to 13 Democratic personalities, President Trump and media critics. And on Saturday, an armed man identified by authorities as Robert Bowers killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue, apparently motivated by fanaticism and belief in immigration plots.
[Pittsburgh synagogue shootings deepen divide in Jewish community over Trump]
Tony Ledbetter, president of the Volusia County Republican Party, told the Post that he blamed the Democrats for firing on the desk.
"These are the only people who would do that," he said without providing evidence. "The sick democrats."
Cheatham said the police would step up patrols around the Republican office as well as the local Democratic outpost in town.
Jewel Dickson, president of the Volusia Democracy Party, told Daytona Beach News-Journal that the shooting was "dreadful".
"It's a sign that things are going badly," she said. "I would not be quick to blame a democrat for doing that. It could be anyone who is angry. "
"An attack on one of us is an attack on us all, and everyone should feel safe to participate in our democracy," she said in a statement.
Ledbetter said the office volunteers charged with taking out the vote before midterm elections next week were already starting to get back to work, although he planned to organize an armed security of 24. hours during the elections.
"We are not going anywhere," said Ledbetter. "We are putting up a piece of plywood."
About six to eight people work in the office on a rotating basis, he said. Ledbetter said he thought the shooting was taking the form of an alley at night and that he was skeptical about the possibility that the police would find a suspect.
"You will never know who did that," he said. "It's a small complex; there was no camera on the outside – nothing to record anything. "
He said that he planned to install security cameras for the next elections.
"My idea of civility is: go vote, and if you do not win, go ahead and go home," he said.
About 55 percent of Volusia County voters chose Trump in 2016.
The representative of the Democratic State, Patrick Henry, who represents the region, condemned the shooting in a statement published to journalists.
"After one of the 72 deadliest hours in America, I am sorry to hear that shots were fired at a Republican Party office in my district," he said. "Your party affiliation should never make you a target of gun violence."
Read more:
Thousands of people signed a letter saying that Trump was not welcome in Pittsburgh. He plans to visit anyway.
Michael Moore publishes images of the suspect of the terrorist attack Cesar Sayoc at the Trump rally
An alleged armed man from the synagogue appears in court while the rabbi pleads: "Stop hate speech"
White nationalist Richard Spencer accused of mistreating his wife throughout their marriage
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