Shots fired at county Democratic headquarters
NORRISTOWN » Norristown Police Department, the FBI and Montgomery County Detectives are jointly investigating a report of gunshots fired into the Montgomery County Democratic Committee office on Jan. 20.
According to a report issued by Norristown Police Chief Mark Talbot, Norristown officers arrived at 21 E. Airy Street and spoke with Executive Director Brian Levy, who said he found that three bullets were fired through the front window of the building.
Levy told officers he discovered the bullet holes Wednesday a little before 4:40 in the afternoon when he entered the offices. Levy told police that the building was unoccupied from Jan. 19 at 6:30 to Jan. 20 at 7:30 a.m. Detectives are in the process of gathering and reviewing nearby security camera footage, according to the press release.
In addition, Levy reported to police on Jan. 8 he “received a threatening email from someone who alluded to a stolen election.”
It has not been determined that the threatening email is related to the shooting incident.
During Thursday’s county commissioners meeting, Commissioner Ken Lawrence, a Democrat, was disheartened by the news of the shooting at the county headquarters.
“This feels particularly personal though because I’ve spent countless hours in that building. During
normal times, there are many volunteers who are there, high school students, retired senior citizens, of course staff. So ... I’m glad no one was hurt. I hope the perpetrator is caught and punished and I hope we can all tone down our rhetoric and realize that violence is never a way to settle a dispute.”
When asked about the timing in regard to the inauguration of Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president, Lawrence said, “I was shocked. They’re looking at cameras, they’re investigating. You don’t want it to happen here. You always think about these things happening other places, but it happened. I trust that the Norristown police and our district attorney will investigate fully, and I hope the person or persons are caught and punished.”