Washington legislative candidate says her car was hit by gunfire in road rage incident

A Tacoma area candidate for the state legislature says her car was shot at multiple times during a road rage incident on the way home from her campaign kickoff event last Wednesday night.

Democrat candidate for state representative, Sharlett Mena, recounted the harrowing incident on Twitter this weekend. “I was on my way home from my campaign kickoff on Wednesday night when I was shot at in a road rage incident. My partner and I had just dropped a friend at their house and were driving home when we were tailed by another car,” Mena wrote.

“They tracked us and threatened us. Finally, they shot at us and sped away. Fortunately, the bullet only pierced the car and neither of us were hit. We made it home physically unscathed, but I am devastated and deeply shaken.”

Mena went on to express her feelings about the gun violence epidemic in the United States. “Gun violence can (and does) happen anywhere and to anyone. I’ve been hearing a lot from constituents who are concerned that these types of events are happening more and more in our neighborhoods. This has been our reality.” 

Mena pointed out that just hours prior to the incident, her district had gathered together to pay tribute to the victims of the Uvalde, Texas elementary school shooting on Tuesday. “Today, I remain deeply committed to doing the work and keeping our communities safe. Gun violence is preventable. I look forward to supporting commonsense [sic] responsibility measures in the Legislature next year. We cannot accept this violence as normal.”

Mena will face off against two other candidates in her state legislative race scheduled for August 8. The two who receive the most votes will advance to the November election.