LAFAYETTE — One day following the riots at the United States Capitol Wednesday, shots were fired into the Tippecanoe County Democratic Party's headquarters.
Chairwoman for Tippecanoe County Democrats, Heather Maddox, said several bullets were shot at her party's headquarters in downtown Lafayette on Thursday.
Maddox said she received a phone call from her building landlord on Thursday afternoon informing her about the incident and that the Lafayette Police Department was already at the scene.
"Shots fired into the front door and into one of the windows," Maddox told ABC News.
"It really shook me up quite a bit," she said.
The chairwoman said her first thought was about what happened at the Capitol, which she believes sparked the shooting. Adding, no other building was shot-up, so "it's pretty obvious what they were trying to do."
According to Maddox, however, the local Republican and Democrat parties get along very well, so it was shocking to everybody, including the Republican County Commissioner, who Maddox says is "sick about it."
"It's sad that this is where we are," Maddox said. "I think we all need to look at ourselves and just stop this ... This has got to stop. It has to stop."
John Zody, Chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, submitted the following statement to WRTV, saying, "I fear that this act of violence will not be a one-time incident."
"It's not a coincidence to have a Democratic Party office experience a shooting not even a day after a domestic terrorist attack at the U.S. Capitol. The act of violence against the Tippecanoe County Democratic Party headquarters is alarming and continues the dangerous escalation of violence against political organizations and American democracy itself. However, I fear that this act of violence will not be a one-time incident. I implore all local and state leaders to come together and condemn this violence now so we can prevent further violence from happening across Indiana - and we will carry and fight on as Democrats."
State Representative Chris Campbell, D-West Lafayette, also released a statement to WRTV.
"Tonight's Tippecanoe County is unrecognizable. I am heartbroken. The attack on the U.S. Capitol and the Tippecanoe County Democratic Party headquarters is an attack on democracy itself. This type of political violence demonstrated across the nation was fueled by inflammatory rhetoric that must come to an end.
This division needs to stop immediately. We need to get back to a place of civility. It is time for We The People to come together to rebuild a healthy democratic society that we can be proud of. State and local leaders must condemn all acts of political violence, and I hope my colleagues join me in my condemnation of today's events."
Police believe the shooting happened overnight, according to Maddox. Fortunately, the headquarters were empty due to the pandemic.
