Suspect arrested in shooting at Democratic National Committee office in Arizona

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

Tempe police said Jeffrey Michael Kelly, 60, is also accused of hanging several razor-bladed political signs on Tuesday in Ahwatukee, an affluent Phoenix suburb where most voters voted Democratic in recent elections .

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

According to police, Kelly was being held on three counts of terrorist attacks and four other counts related to the shooting.

The Phoenix resident's first court appearance was 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 shots 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. No one was inside during the shooting.

The Tempe location is one of 18 Harris field offices in Arizona where Democrats gather to organize Harris campaign efforts.

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 election season, with the Republican presidential candidate being assassinated at a campaign event and at one of Trump's golf courses in Florida.