A rifle-wielding attacker opened fire on Republican lawmakers as they practiced for a charity baseball game Wednesday, critically wounding House GOP Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and hitting aides and Capitol police as congressmen and others dove for cover. The assailant, who had nursed grievances against President Donald Trump and the GOP, fought a running gun battle with police before he, too, was shot and later died.
Colleagues said Scalise had been fielding balls at second base at a local park in Alexandria, just across the Potomac River from the nation's capital, as the Republicans practiced for their annual game with Democrats.
He dragged himself away from the infield leaving a trail of blood before fellow lawmakers could rush to his assistance. He was listed in critical condition, but his office said that before he underwent surgery for a wound in his hip he was in good spirits and spoke with his wife by telephone.
The shooter was identified as James T. Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector from Illinois who had several minor run-ins with the law in recent years and belonged to a Facebook group called "Terminate the Republican Party." He had been living out of his van in the Alexandria area in recent months, the FBI said.
Capitol Police officers who were in Scalise's security detail wounded the shooter. He later died of his injuries, Trump told the nation from the White House.
"Everyone on that field is a public servant," Trump said, his tone somber, America's acrimonious politics set aside for the moment. "Their sacrifice makes democracy possible."
Lawmakers noted their good fortune in having armed protectors on hand — "Thank God," they exclaimed over and over — and said otherwise the shooter would have been able to take a huge deadly toll.
The events left the capital horrified and stunned, and prompted immediate reflection on the current hostility and vitriol in American politics. Lawmakers called for a new dialogue on lowering the partisan temperature, and Trump urged Americans to come together as he assumed the role of national unifier for one of the first times in his presidency.
Proceedings were canceled for the day in the House, and instead Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California issued their own calls for unity. "An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us," Ryan said, to prolonged applause.
Shortly after the shooting, Bernie Sanders, the former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, said on the Senate floor that the shooter apparently was a volunteer for his campaign last year. Sanders said he denounced the violence "in the strongest possible terms."
Scalise, 51, the No. 3 House Republican leader, was first elected in 2008. The popular and gregarious lawmaker is known for his love of baseball and handed out commemorative bats when he secured the job of House whip several years ago.
.@HouseDemocrats praying for our @HouseGOP @SenateGOP baseball colleagues after hearing about the horrific shooting. https://t.co/y2HEUaSuzd pic.twitter.com/6HBrlnxtey
— Rep. Ruben J. Kihuen (@RepKihuen) June 14, 2017
Texas Rep. Roger Williams said that one of his aides, Zack Barth, was shot but was doing well and expected to fully recover. Two Capitol Police officers sustained relatively minor injuries. A former congressional aide was hospitalized.
The shooting occurred at a popular park and baseball complex where Republican lawmakers and others were gathered for a morning practice about 7 a.m. They were in good spirits despite the heat and humidity as they prepared for the annual congressional baseball match that pits Republicans against Democrats.
The popular annual face-off, which raises money for charity, is scheduled for Thursday evening at Nationals Park across the Potomac River in Washington, and will go forward as planned.
Hodgkinson has been in the area since March, living out of his van, said Washington FBI Special Agent In Charge Tim Slater. Democratic former Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille said he had spoken often with the man on recent mornings at the nearby YMCA.
Hodgkinson's apparent Facebook page included strong criticism of Republicans and the Trump administration. But Slater said authorities were still working to determine a motive and had no indication Hodgkinson knew about the baseball practice ahead of time.
The GOP lawmakers' team was taking batting practice when gunshots rang out and chaos erupted.
After Scalise was hit, said Rep. Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican, the congressman "crawled into the outfield, leaving a trail of blood." "We started giving him the liquids, I put pressure on his wound in his hip," Brooks said.
The gunman had a rifle and "a lot of ammo," said Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who was at the practice.
Texas Rep. Joe Barton, still in his baseball uniform, told reporters that Scalise's security detail, Capitol Hill police and then Alexandria police returned fire in a battle that lasted as long as 10 minutes and included dozens of shots.
"The security detail saved a lot of lives," he said. "It was scary."
Lawmakers took cover in the dugout. Barton said his son, Jack, got under an SUV.
Texas Rep. Mike Conaway described what sounded like an explosion, then lawmakers scattering off the field as police roamed in search of the gunman and engaged him.
"The guy's down to a handgun, he dropped his rifle, they shoot him, I go over there, they put him in handcuffs," Conaway said, adding that if the shooter had "gotten inside the fence, where a bunch of guys were holed up in the dugout, it would have been like shooting fish in a barrel."
Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina said he had just left the practice and encountered the apparent gunman in the parking lot before the shooting. The man calmly asked which party's lawmakers were practicing and Duncan told him they were the Republicans. The man thanked him.
The wounded Capitol Police officers were identified as David Bailey, who was treated for a minor injury, and Crystal Griner, who was shot in the ankle. Also wounded was former congressional aide Matt Mika, who now works for Tyson Foods in its Washington office. Mika's family said the lobbyist was shot multiple times and was in critical condition following surgery.
The event raised questions about the security of members of Congress. While the top lawmakers, including Scalise, have security details, others do not and regularly appear in public without protection. The last time a lawmaker was shot was when Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords of Arizona was hit in the head and grievously injured while meeting with constituents at a supermarket parking lot in 2011.
Following the Giffords shooting, lawmakers have held fewer open town halls and have been advised to increase security at such events.
Our top story on midday edition. The shooting this morning that wanted a top Republican Congressman Steve Scalise and for other people has rattled the nation . President Trump decreed the shooting as a very brutal assault and called for all Americans to set aside differences in place for the recovery of the victims. We have reached out to all of their Republican -- politicians in San Diego County. Congressman peters joins us now. What is the mood in Washington after this turn of events? The mood is subdued and somber. Everyone is first and foremost concerned about the well-being of the people who were shot and thankful for the bravery of capital police. It is a little bit of jolt for everyone to remember that we are all on one team Other plans for Congress to absorb this new manifestation of divisions. We had an excellent opportunity to meet and get briefing from the Sergeant of arms and much a lot of people expressed their concern about what is the contribution that Congress is making regarding the way the country is feeling. Is there something we can do about the time that we are setting. I think that people were frightened and are really concerned. It was a good reminder that we also constituent that have different views of how the government could address the world. We can disagree on policy but there is no reason for us to be disagreeable let alone to condone or encourage any kind of violence. Did it shock you that the shooter appears to be a Bernie Sanders supporter? I am not aware the political orientation. I just think that whatever your disagreements are and I am as frustrated as anybody with the insistent Patterson ship of this place. It is very frustrating but violence is never the right answer. It is just not the way we do things in America. How is it affecting you personally. Does it make you feel more cautious about appearing in public? I know that everybody has got concerns about personal safety. We have seen a rise of violence in America and I have the same concerns of everybody else. I have to remember that my kids who got in contact with me concerned about my personal safety as are my wife and my staff and everybody that I come into contact with so I am paying attention to that but the thing I could do that would have the most impact is just tone down the rhetoric with other members of Congress to remember that we are all Americans and whatever our disagreements violence is never the right answer. Thank you for joining us. That was San Diego Congressman Scott peters. We are joined now by another Congressman. What was your reaction when he heard the news this morning. I was pretty shocked. I was down in the gym working out with some of my friends. Somebody said I think Steve Scalise just got shot and I said what and we cannot believe it's a return on the television and nothing was on it. Then we started getting texts confirming that he had been shot. It was just shocking. Everybody likes Steve he's a very nice guy. We were sad. We did not know who else had been shot we just knew he had been shot at the right. Do you have a security staff. Does this make you start to think more carefully about where you appear in public? I do not have a security staff so I walk around myself sometimes with some of the people who work with me and I have always been very conscious about this. I was on the city Council and we had confronted someone who is a [ NULL ] sympathizer and he had threatened me and my family so we have done some security at that point but since then I have been careful with what I do but we know we are targets. You cannot live afraid but the reality is I do not have security with me. Do you think this raises the political stakes in terms of taking a stand on positions? I hope that everybody turns down the red a great a rhetoric a bit. One of the things I think is terrible is we have different opinions and very strongly held opinions but demonizing each other I do not think it is helpful at all. We have seen that a lot. Unfortunately I think it does cause people who are a little bit unstable to become more unstable. I am hoping we can turn down the rhetoric. Not to change our views but certainly the way that we talk to each other has to change. It is no way to continue to move forward to Do you think this could have implications for how much our elected officials are willing to appear in public places for example town hall meetings. If anything we may have to get some more security but it is available to us if we wanted. One of the things I have to tell you is that certainly the local police and federal police are always willing to help. They are always willing to come and offer protection if you need it. This is an unforeseen situation. It's not a situation where there was going to be confrontation. This person it seems like was very intent on shooting some politicians. At least that's what it seems from what we have heard so far. There's very little you can do to protect from that. When we run for office we know we can be assassinated. It's part of the situations we find ourselves in when we are politicians. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. Thank you.
Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
