Lou Dobbs Shot At? Who Would Shoot at Lou Dobbs?

Who would take a shot at Lou Dobbs? As it turns out, authorities are still in the dark and unsure of the answer to that question, or even if the sometimes controversial CNN news anchor was actually shot at or just the accidental victim of a stray bullet. According to Lou Dobbs, he was the victim of a house shooting this past week, and said on his radio show that the nation was "engaged in a battle for the soul of this country." Dobbs was not at the scene, but his wife and personal driver were, according to the New Jersey State Police, who investigated the incident. Lou Dobbs, a vocal proponent of tougher border laws and anti-illegal immigration legislation on CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight," told his radio audience on Monday that "a shot was fired at my house where I live" following "weeks and weeks of threatening phone calls."

Various agencies, including CNN, reported on the situation, which comprised a single round hitting Lou Dobbs' home in Wantage, New Jersey, a town about 50 miles northwest of New York City, on October 5. The bullet, which investigators identified as a 'long round' from a gun other than a handgun, struck the house at the attic level but did not penetrate. Dobb's wife and driver heard the shot. She said that the bullet damaged the siding of the house. Police retrieved the spent round and ran ballistics checks.

According to the Associated Press, it is small game hunting season in New Jersey. However, a sweep of the area found no hunters nearby.

Police have not said whether they believe the shot was deliberately fired at Lou Dobbs house, but they have investigated "further past a stray hunter's bullet" because of Dobbs' "public persona."

And it is that public persona that may have attracted a bullet from a disaffected individual. Lou Dobbs pulls no punches during "Lou Dobbs Tonight," his nightly news magazine where his "independent populism" often comes down hard on illegal immigration, seemingly unfair trade practices and policies with China, and other divisive, often hotly debated political issues. He pulls together several contributors, analysts, and experts nightly for a "panel discussion" and has come under fire by various media outlets (like MSNBC), immigration law reform organizations (like La Raza), and some civil rights activist groups (like the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center).

It would seem that the answer to the "Who would take a shot at Lou Dobbs?" question might well be answered by "Half the country." (But, remember, the round may have also been a stray.)

And there may have been no small game hunters in the area for a reason. The individual that shot at Lou Dobbs' house may have not been gunning for small game...

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Sources:

CNN.com
Associated Press