Gunman shoots at US lawmaker
Alexandria, US, June 14: A man wielding a rifle opened fire on lawmakers and staff at a baseball practice just outside the US capital early Wednesday, wounding a top Republican congressman and several others.
Congressman Steve Scalise, the majority whip who rallies Republican votes in the House of Representatives and one of around two dozen lawmakers at the baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia, was shot in the hip, but was in stable condition after surgery, according to his office.
President Donald Trump called for national unity after the incident. He also confirmed that the man who opened fire at the field in Alexandria has died of his injuries.
“We are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good,” Mr Trump said in an address to the country from the Diplomatic Room of the White House.
The shooting came amid high political tension in the United States after a vitriol-filled 2016 election campaign.
“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,” Mr Trump said, calling for the nation to put politics aside.
The President also praised the “heroic” acts of law enforcement in subduing the shooter, identified as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson. — AFP