FBI seeks clues as victims struggle to recover
WASHINGTON — Investigators on Thursday were working to piece together details of the journey of James T. Hodgkinson, trying to figure how his politically fueled rage led him from his small Illinois hometown to a shootout with police at an Alexandria, Virginia, ball field.
Hodgkinson, 66, a former contractor and home inspector with a record of domestic violence, died in a shootout with police just minutes after opening fire with an assault rifle Wednesday morning. Two people were critically wounded, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana., who was shot
in the hip as he stood at second base.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump said Scalise, who reportedly underwent a third surgery Thursday morning, was facing a tough recovery. On Wednesday, MedStar Washington Hospital said the bullet entered his left hip and traveled across his pelvis, damaging bones and internal organs. Scalise received multiple blood transfusions and was in critical condition, the hospital said.
“It’s been much more difficult than people even thought at the time,” Trump said. “He’s in some trouble, but he’s a great fighter, and he’s going to be OK, we hope.”
Matt Mika, a former congressional staff member who now works as a lobbyist, was shot in the chest. He was reported to be improving but was still listed in serious condition at George Washington University Hospital. Two other shooting victims, including a Capitol Police officer, received relatively minor injuries.
As investigators combed through the Alexandria neighborhood and Belleville, Illinois, on Thursday, Hodgkinson’s wife, Sue, emerged briefly to speak to reporters, accompanied by a sheriff’s deputy.
“I had no idea he was going to do this,” she told the local Fox News affiliate. “I can’t wrap my head around it.”
She shook her head when asked whether her husband had explained why he left for Washington, but then added, “He wanted to work on taxes” — possibly an allusion to his views that the wealthy should be taxed more.
One unanswered question for investigators was how long Hodgkinson had been targeting the ball field and the practice sessions.
The FBI said Hodgkinson had two guns, a 7.62-mm rifle and a 9-mm handgun, both apparently bought legally from licensed dealers. The FBI said investigators are going through a cellphone, camera and laptop found in his white van, which was parked at a YMCA across the street.
Hodgkinson, whose Facebook page was filled with angry rants about Trump and other Republicans, arrived in the Alexandria area in March, the FBI said, and on April 4 joined a YMCA across the street from Eugene Simpson Stadium Park, long used by the Republican congressional baseball team as a practice field to prepare for an annual charity game.
Hodgkinson dissolved his home inspection and appraisal business in April, records show. Family members told The Belleville NewsDemocrat that he sold his motorcycle, packed his van and left in late March for what he described as a Washington vacation that might include some political protesting.
He lived in his van, showered at the YMCA and took a few side trips.
Once in Alexandria, Hodgkinson could be seen spending long hours with his laptop in the YMCA’s common areas, including one spot at a window with a good view of the park. On Tuesday, he gave written notice that he wanted to cancel his membership, according to a statement released by the YMCA.
But he still had access because his membership was paid up into July.
He arrived at the YMCA at 5:31 a.m. Wednesday and once again sat with his laptop in a common area; no one saw him leave.
Shortly after 7 a. m., Hodgkinson stood outside a chain- link fence around the ball field and began firing.