By Richard Weizel
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Reuters) - Police in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Friday were investigating whether the campaign office of the city's former mayor, a former convict who is running for his old job, was the deliberate target of a drive-by shooting.
Several bullets fired from a vehicle traveling by Democrat Joseph Ganim's campaign office on Thursday hit the building and one lodged in a car belonging to a campaign official, police said. No injuries were reported.
"It is an active investigation and everything is being reviewed at this time," said police spokesman Kevin Coughlin. "Witnesses near the campaign building said they heard multiple gunshots."
Ganim served as mayor of Bridgeport from 1991 to 2003, when he was convicted of federal corruption charges for running a "pay to play" operation with real estate developers in Connecticut's largest city. He served seven years in prison.
Last month he narrowly beat two-term incumbent mayor Bill Finch for the Democratic nomination for mayor, setting the stage for a possible return to office next year. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in Bridgeport by a 10-1 ratio and Ganim remains very popular.
Ganim, who was not in the office at the time the shots were fired, said he did not believe the building had been intentionally targeted.
"There have always been a lot of political shots fired in Bridgeport," he said. "I doubt someone would go so far as to literally fire off real shots at us."
Ganim has made a recent surge in shootings in the city a key element of his campaign, pledging to do more to fight crime if elected.