Suspect arrested in shootings of Democratic National Committee office in Arizona

By The Associated Press

Bullet holes remain in the glass window at a Democratic Party campaign office in Tempe, Ariz., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriel Sandoval)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Gabriel Sandoval]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — A suspect has been arrested in connection with three separate shootings in 20 days that damaged a Democratic National Committee campaign office in suburban Phoenix, authorities said Wednesday.

Tempe police said Jeffrey Michael Kelly, 60, also is accused of hanging several political signs lined with razor blades on Tuesday in Ahwatukee, an affluent suburb of Phoenix where most voters have chosen Democrats in recent elections.

Authorities said the hand-painted signs were attached to palm trees and appeared to criticize Democrats and their presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Kelly was being held on three felony counts of acts of terrorism and four other counts related to the shootings, according to police.

The Phoenix resident had an initial court appearance scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, around the same time Tempe police planned to release more information about Kelly’s arrest.

Police said Kelly allegedly fired BB pellets and then gunshots at the glass front door and a window of the Arizona Democrats’ field office in the early morning hours of Sept. 16, Sept. 23 and Oct. 6. Nobody was inside during the shootings.

The Tempe location was one of 18 Harris field offices in Arizona where Democrats gathered to organize Harris campaign efforts. It was shut down after the last shooting, police said.

Arizona is one of the battleground states where the competition between Harris and former President Donald Trump has been particularly intense.

Political violence has already marred the campaign season, with the Republican presidential nominee being targeted by assassination attempts at a campaign rally and at one of Trump’s Florida golf courses.