Scalise leaves hospital 6 weeks after shooting
House majority whip will now face intense rehabilitation stint.
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, who was wounded six weeks ago when a man opened fire at a GOP baseball practice in Alexandria, Va., has been discharged from a Washington, D.C., hospital.
MedStar Washington said Wednesday that the House majority whip was discharged a day earlier and will begin “intensive inpatient rehabilitation.” The hospital also said in a brief statement that Scalise is “in good spirits and is looking forward to his return to work once he completes rehabilitation.”
The gunman, James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old unemployed home inspector from southern Illinois, died in a shootout with police. Scalise, R-La., and four others were injured in the attack, including two U.S. Capitol police officers who were on Scalise’s security detail.
Doctors said Scalise, who suffered a single bullet wound to the hip in the June 14 incident outside a YMCA facility, was in “imminent risk of death” when he was first admitted to the hospital, where he underwent several surgeries. He was readmitted to the intensive care unit on July 5 because of concerns about infection and subsequently had another operation.
Hodgkinson, the gunman, used a high-powered 7.62mm rifle and a 9mm handgun as he ambushed the baseball field where the team of congressional Republicans was practicing for an annual charity game against their Democratic counterparts.
Doctors said Scalise was in ‘imminent risk of death’ when he was first admitted.
Someone shouted, “He’s got a gun!” Then came a torrent of bullets, as Hodgkinson unloaded his weapon and people tried to run and hide. Two members of Scalise’s security team jumped from a black SUV parked nearby and returned fire.
Hodgkinson had been living out of his white cargo van on a street in Alexandria, according to federal officials. He had left his home in a rural area outside St. Louis about two months earlier, selling almost everything he owned from his business before coming to the Washington area.
People in the Alexandria area said Hodgkinson became a fixture at the YMCA. He drew notice at the facility but not suspicions as he sometimes sat in the YMCA’s lobby, focusing on his laptop. He carried a gym bag but was never seen working out.
Hodgkinson had shared plenty of his political views, including online postings that were mostly rants against Republicans and the “super rich.” One of his recent posts read: “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., who represents Hodgkinson’s hometown, said Hodgkinson was “always angry” about the GOP agenda. A photo of former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders was his Facebook cover image.
At times over the last decade, Hodgkinson had run-ins with neighbors and a daughter that prompted people to call in law enforcement.
His wife, Sue Hodgkinson, said her husband had recently run out of money trying to live in the Washington region and was expected to head home. She also said there was no warning that he would do anything violent.