New York outlet claims Zeldin 'seizes' on shooting outside his home for political gain

Local New York media outlet, The Buffalo News, accused Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., of seizing on a shooting that happened just outside his front door to make political hay to boost his gubernatorial campaign.

On Sunday, the Buffalo, New York news outlet published a piece on Zeldin’s response to the shooting in his front yard, headlined, "Zeldin campaign seizes on shooting outside his home." 

The headline’s tone appeared to be that Zeldin has found the shooting to be politically expedient for his campaign to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y.

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The opening statement of the piece claimed that Zeldin – who has modeled himself as the tough-on-crime candidate in the race – "can suddenly look no further than his front yard to illustrate the crime theme dominating his Republican campaign for governor of New York, and he's not afraid to talk about it."

Reuters reported that two individuals were shot while outside Zeldin’s home on Sunday. The shooting was not connected to the congressman’s family, as Zeldin mentioned he did not know the two victims. The lawmaker said only his two daughters were at home when the shooting occurred. 

In a statement, Zeldin said, ""My daughters are shaken, but ok. Like so many New Yorkers, crime has literally made its way to our front door." The two victims were transported to local hospitals. 

The way The Buffalo News described Zeldin’s response to the crime was that he could not stop talking about the incident. It said, "The Suffolk County congressman was still reacting Monday to the Sunday afternoon shooting of two teenagers outside his Shirley home, as his terrified daughters hid inside." 

The piece also insinuated that Zeldin was using the incident to bolster his campaign, though he insisted he wasn’t. The outlet stated, "And while he bristled at any suggestion that his Sunday evening press conference may have ‘politicized’ the incident that resulted in injuries to the boys, his allies at the Republican State Committee were already circulating fundraising solicitations that said, ‘No one is safe from Crimewave Kathy's New York.’"

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Zeldin was almost the victim of serious bodily harm at a July campaign event, when someone in the crowd rushed the congressman onstage and threatened to stab him with a sharp object. The attacker was subdued and is now facing federal charges for assaulting a member of Congress with a deadly weapon. 

The Buffalo News also reported that, "State GOP Chairman Nicholas A. Langworthy on Monday was asking party faithful to contribute toward ‘electing a pro-safety, pro-law enforcement governor’ in a letter detailing the Shirley shooting."

The paper also used the word "seize" again to describe how Zeldin citing polls showing that New Yorkers are tired of high crime rates. It said, "Zeldin has prioritized fighting escalating crime to the top of his campaign agenda, seizing upon poll results showing it as a major concern of New York voters this year."

It added, "He continues to address concerns about safety in the New York City subway as well as more and more lurid crimes blaring from tabloids on an almost daily basis."

As Fox News Digital reported this past May, "New York City subway crime is up nearly 58% so far this year compared to the same time in 2021."

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Fox News' Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.