Florida Republican Party office damaged in hail of gunfire leaving windows smashed and bullet holes in ceiling

Attack took place while premises closed, say officials

Four bullets were fired into the office (Volusia County Republican Party)

A Republican Party headquarters in Volusia County, Florida, has been damaged in a hail of gunfire fired by persons unknown amid a series of violent incidents in the country less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

The office was part of a strip mall at which no other businesses had been damaged, according to a report in the Daytona Beach News-Journal. It may represent a targeted, politically-motivated attack.

Police believe the vandalism occurred some time between Sunday at 4pm, when the last person there left, and Monday morning, when the damage was discovered.

One glass window was shattered and one had a bullet hole in it. There were bullet holes in the walls and ceiling, representing a total of four shots. Some other businesses nearby had closed at 10pm on Sunday, and no-one working there has reported hearing gunshots.

This attack comes after other politically-motivated and racially-motivated attacks around the country. On Sunday, a gunman shot and killed 11 people in a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and last week an attempted bomber sent explosive devices to more than a dozen senior Democrats and critics of Donald Trump.

The FBI has not reported whether the attack on the Republican office in Florida was being treated an act of terrorism. If the attack is found to have been politically-motivated, in order to intimidate people or to affect the conduct of a government, then the FBI could label it terrorism. A suspect does not need to cause human injuries to be considered a terrorist.

Both Democrats and Republicans have endured targeted attacks. Last year, a gunman fired shots into a congressional baseball game, wounding five people. Earlier this month, a New York City GOP building was vandalised with spray-painted anarchy signs. A note at the scene claimed “our attack is merely a beginning”.