2 CAPITOL OFFICERS TAKE DOWN GUNMAN FIRING ON GOP POLS
Gunman taken down after shooting 4
In a day that horrified America, a sniper nursing grievances with President Trump and the Republican party critically wounded a leading GOP congressman and three others practicing for a charity baseball game — with shots that pierced the nation’s increasingly heated partisan rhetoric and raised alarms over the potential for political violence.
Capitol Police mortally wounded shooter James T. Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Ill., but not before he hit House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, an aide, a lobbyist and one of the officers with his rounds. Hodgkinson, a former U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders campaign volunteer, 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 aid. 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.
Hodgkinson, a home inspector from Illinois who had several minor run-ins with the law in recent years, 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.
Trump told the nation from the White House, “Everyone on that field is a public servant. Their sacrifice makes democracy possible.”
The president last night made a surprise visit to Scalise’s hospital bed.
Lawmakers noted their good fortune in having armed security 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. Business was suspended in the House, where House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Democratic leader Rep. 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.
Former Democratic 2016 contender Sanders acknowledged on the Senate floor that the shooter apparently was a volunteer for his campaign last year, and denounced the violence “in the strongest possible terms.”
In addition to Scalise, 51, the wounded included Zack Barth, an aide to Texas U.S. Rep. Roger Williams; Capitol Police officer Crystal Griner, who was shot in the ankle; and lobbyist Matt Mika, who now works for Tyson Foods in its Washington office. The other police officer, David Bailey, was treated for a minor injury.
The shooting occurred at a popular park where Republican lawmakers and others were gathered for a 7 a.m. practice for the annual Congressional Baseball Game that pits Republicans against Democrats to raise money for charity. The game is expected to go ahead tonight.
Hodgkinson had 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 how Hodgkinson knew about the baseball practice ahead of time.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina said he had just left the practice and encountered the 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.