A day of trauma and unity
Scalise listed as critical after gunman’s attack
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — An act of apparent political violence disrupted one of Washington’s few remaining bi partisan traditions Wednesday when a gunman, believed to be targeting Republicans, wounded House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and three other people as members of Congress took part in an early morning baseball practice for a charity event.
Scalise, 51, the third-ranking Republican in the House, and one other victim were listed in critical condition after surgeries.
The gunman, identified by law enforcement officials as James Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Ill., a suburb of St. Louis, died of wounds he suffered in a shootout with members of Scalise’s security detail and local police.
Hodgkinson, described by his lawyer as a “very irascible, angry little man,” had a history of minor run-ins with the law and a long trail of social media posts denouncing President Donald Trump and other Republicans.
He staged the attack at a baseball diamond in the quiet neighborhood of Alexandria, Va., where Republican lawmakers have practiced for years for an annual congressional charity game against Democrats.
The attack was the first on amember of Congress since the shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords at a meeting with constituents in Arizona in 2011.
Trump and leaders of both parties called for national unity and denounced violence.
“We may have our differences but we do well, in times like these, to remember that everyone who serves in our nation’s capital is here because, above all, they love our country,” said Trump, whose 71st birthday was Wednesday.
He praised the heroism of U.S. Capitol Police officers who were wounded responding to what he called “a very, very brutal assault.”
Speaker Paul Ryan, R Wis., also called for unity in a brief address to the House hours after the attack.
“We are united. We are united in our shock. We are united in our anguish. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” Ryan said.
But, as if to underscore the political divide that rebuts such appeals, some conservative media pundits said Democratic political leaders were to blame for the violence because of the intensity of their antiTrump rhetoric.
The two injured Capitol police officers, agents David Bailey and Crystal Griner, were in “good condition,” Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said.
The other two wounded people were identified as Matt Mika, a former congressional staff member who now works for Tyson Foods, and Zack Barth, a staff aide to Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas.
Barth was in good condition, according to Williams’ office. Mika, who was shot several times, according to witnesses, including at least once in the chest, was in critical condition, according to a statement fromhis family.
During the 2016 presidential race, Hodgkinson was an outspoken supporter of and campaign volunteer for Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who ran for the Democratic nomination.
Sanders, reading a statement on the Senate floor, said he was “sickened” by the shooting, which was carried out by “someone who apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign.”
“Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society,” he said.
Facebook messages that appear to have been posted by Hodgkinson regularly supported Sanders and criticized his rival, Hillary Clinton, and, with increasing vehemence and profanity, Trump.
One post, written March 22, read: “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.”
Hodgkinson also was a member of Facebook groups with names including “The Road to Hell is Paved with Republicans” and “Terminate the Republican Party.”
He was arrested in Illinois on an assault charge in 2006, but the case was dismissed after witnesses failed to show up at hearings, said his lawyer, Lyndon Evanko.
Since March, officials said, he has been living in Alexandria, a suburb of Washington.
Tim Slater, the FBI special agent in charge of the Washington field office, cautioned that it was “too early” to know Hodgkinson’s motivation for the shooting.
As news of the shooting spread, Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the House and Senate canceled their official business for the day.
In a briefing with security officials before the House convened at noon, members of Congress from both parties talked of receiving death threats, including some since the shooting, and pleaded for additional security.
Members of the House and Senate leadership have armed officers assigned to protect them, but rank-andfile members do not routinely have security details.
The charity game is scheduled to take place this evening.