Bullets strike staffer's car at Daniel Hernandez's campaign office
A shooting outside the campaign headquarters of longtime gun safety advocate and congressional candidate Daniel Hernandez left his family and staffers shaken Thursday afternoon.
At around 5:15 p.m., according to a statement from the Tucson Police Department, officers responded to a call about vandalism and possible vehicle damage at the Hernandez family home, which doubles as his campaign headquarters. A staffer's car was struck by a bullet, and shell casings were found at the scene. No one was harmed. The investigation remains ongoing and no arrests have yet been made.
Hernandez, a Democrat who is running in the special election to represent Arizona's 7th Congressional district, lamented the 'deeply unsettling' danger his family and team were in and denounced what he said was another in a long string of threats against his political career.
'As a gun violence survivor, I know this fear all too well — and over the years, my family and I have endured repeated death threats,' he said in a written statement. 'Our family, our staff, and our supporters deserve to feel safe. Violence and intimidation have no place in our politics. We will not be deterred, and we will share more information as it becomes available.'
Hernandez has served in public office since 2017, when he was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives. Along with his younger sisters, current state Reps. Alma Hernandez and Consuelo Hernandez, the trio has established a progressive brand that emphasizes LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights and gun safety.
The race to represent Arizona's 7th Congressional district is just a week away. The registration deadline to vote in the special primary election is June 16, and early voting begins on June 18. Hernandez faces a crowded field to win the Democratic nomination in the heavily Democratic district. The percentage of voters in the district who cast their ballots for Democratic candidates is more than twice that of those for Republicans.
Leading the pack are Hernandez and Adelita Grijalva, a veteran of Tucson-area politics who has netted endorsements from high-profile figures like U.S. Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly. Grijalva is seeking to continue the legacy of her father, U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva, who represented the district for more than two decades until his death from cancer in April.
In a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Adelita Grijalva expressed her opposition to gun violence and her relief that no one was hurt.
'My thoughts are with the Hernandez family and campaign team tonight,' she wrote. 'I'm relieved to learn that everyone is safe. We deserve safe communities free from gun violence.'
Concern over gun violence is a key part of Hernandez's political platform. In 2011, he interned for U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords and was credited with helping save her life when she was shot in 2011. That experience informed his commitment to gun safety advocacy, and he later became the state director for Everytown for Gun Safety, heading the organization's efforts to enshrine stricter regulations in Arizona law from 2012 through 2014.
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