Gunman had a short list of lawmakers
It isn’t clear if shooter planned to target the 3 people. Surgeon is upbeat about Scalise’s odds of full recovery.
WASHINGTON — The man who shot House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and others at a congressional baseball practice last week had with him a piece of paper with doodles and the names of three lawmakers, according to a person familiar with the case.
The person told the Associated Press on Saturday that investigators weren’t sure of the significance of the names and didn’t know whether it was a list of people he was targeting. This person was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The person did not disclose the names, but said those listed had been briefed.
Scalise’s trauma surgeon said Friday that the Louisiana Republican can hope to make an “excellent recovery” even though he arrived at the hospital Wednesday at risk of imminent death.
Dr. Jack Sava of MedStar Washington Hospital Center said there was a “good possibility” that the congressman would be able to return to work in his full capacity.
Sava declined to put a timeline on when that might happen or when Scalise, 51, will be able to leave the hospital. The doctor described how a bullet from an assault rifle entered Scalise’s hip and traversed his pelvis, shattering blood vessels, bones and internal organs along the way.
For now, Scalise remains in critical condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Scalise, the No. 3 House Republican, arrived at the hospital via helicopter in shock, with intense internal bleeding, Sava said.
Since then, the lawmaker has undergone multiple surgeries and procedures to stop the bleeding and repair bone. He has been brought out of sedation periodically and has been able to recognize and communicate with his family, Sava said.
Scalise was wounded when a gunman opened fire at a GOP lawmaker baseball practice Wednesday morning.
Several other people were also injured before Scalise’s security detail, members of the Capitol Police force, and other officers gunned down the assailant, who later died. The shooter was an Illinois man, James T. Hodgkinson, who had lashed out against President Trump and other Republicans over social media.
Sava said Friday that there were still hundreds of bullet fragments in Scalise’s body, but that doctors “have no intention to try and remove all the bullet fragments at this point.”
Nonetheless, said Sava, “we fully expect him to be able to walk” and “hopefully run.”
Sava said that after being released from the hospital, Scalise “will require a period of healing and rehabilitation.”
“I feel a lot more confident and a lot more optimistic than I did two, three days ago,” the doctor said. “I think that his risk of death right now is substantially lower than when he came in; he was as critical as you can be when he came in.”
Sava said he told Scalise’s family: “I am not declaring victory until he’s playing ball in his backyard with his family.”
Two Capitol Police officers, David Bailey and Crystal Griner, and House GOP aide Zachary Barth suffered minor injuries. Griner remains hospitalized at MedStar Hospital after getting shot in the ankle, and Sava described her condition as good.
Bailey was spotted Friday in the Capitol, on crutches and out of uniform, accepting congratulations from fellow officers.
Lobbyist Matt Mika, who was also shot multiple times and critically wounded, has undergone additional surgery and doctors expect a full recovery, his family said Saturday.
In a statement, Mika’s family said he would remain in the intensive care unit at George Washington University Hospital at least through the weekend. They said he was able to communicate through notes and signed the game ball from Friday’s Congressional Baseball Game.
Mika is a lobbyist for Tyson Foods and was an aide to former Rep. Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican.