A masked man threatened to shoot a member of the Northern Ireland assembly tonight as she canvassed in a staunchly republican area, her party said.
The armed man pointed an air gun at the SDLP's Dolores Kelly and told her she had five minutes to leave the Kilwilkie estate in Lurgan, Co Armagh.
The Upper Bann representative was canvassing on the doorsteps ahead of next month's European elections.
The MLA said the incident in an area known to house dissident republican elements would not deter her from her work.
"We had two teams of canvassers in Kilwilkie and I did notice a crowd of young fellas in a car pull up. They drove off again so I thought nothing of it until I heard someone say my name and saw a young man in a balaclava, who told me in no uncertain terms that I was to leave the area or I would be shot," she said.
"He had what seemed to be an air gun. He also threatened another member of my party and pointed the gun directly at his face.
Ms Kelly said for safety reasons, she had finished canvassing for the evening after the incident.
"Let me make this very clear to those people who think they can intimidate me or my party — they will not. This is an affront to democracy. I am proud to be an elected representative for this area and a young thug like that will not deter me from my work," she said.
"This type of person offers nothing to the community. There was a teenage girl with me helping me canvass. This person thinks he's being a big man by threatening us, but he's the opposite. A coward is too good a word for him."
The matter is now with the PSNI, she said.
PA