Richmond Police: Shots to Eric Cantor office fired randomly

By JAKE SHERMAN | 3/26/10 1:36 PM EDT


The No. 2 Republican in the House went on national television on Thursday to say that it was not just Democrats receiving threats; he was a target, too.

But that bullet that pierced the window in House Minority Whip Eric Cantor’s Richmond office was merely a stray shot from a random act of gunfire, a Richmond Police department spokesman told POLITICO Friday afternoon.

It’s a bizarre turn of events for Cantor, who is known in Washington for his media savvy.

In that news conference Thursday, Cantor’s point was that Republicans, too, could be the target of threats and violence, after a number of Democrats had reported harassment and threatening messages. The cable news headlines during the Cantor press conference indicated that his office had been shot up in a case of vandalism — in a week in which many Democrats and some Republicans received death threats after the health care vote.

But Richmond Police now say there is no apparent connection between the bullet and Cantor.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35086.html