Baseball shooter carried paper with three names

washington» The man who shot House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and others at a congressional baseball practice 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 aren’t sure of the significance of the names and don’t know if 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 Scalise can hope to make an “excellent recovery,” even though the lawmaker arrived at the hospital Wednesday at imminent risk of death.

Dr. Jack Sava of MedStar Washington Hospital Center said it’s a “good possibility” that the Louisiana Republican will be able to return to work in his full capacity.

Sava declined to put a timeline on when that would happen or when Scalise, 51, would 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.

Several other people were also injured in Wednesday’s shooting before Scalise’s security detail and other police officers gunned down the assailant, who later died. The shooter, James Hodgkinson, had lashed out against President Donald Trump and Republicans on social media.