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U.S. lawmaker Scalise improving after baseball field shooting

Signs acknowledging wounded congressman Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) are seen prior to the Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 3 House Republican, has shown improvement in the past 36 hours after being shot by a man who opened fire on Republican lawmakers at a baseball practice earlier in the week, his lead surgeon said on Friday.

“The congressman’s status remains critical,” Dr. Jack Sava, the director of trauma at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, told reporters. “An excellent recovery is a good possibility.”

Scalise, 51, sustained injuries to internal organs, broken bones and severe bleeding after being shot in his left hip on Wednesday morning on a baseball field in a Washington suburb.

Scalise had been at “imminent risk of death” when he was first brought into the hospital on Wednesday, and he received many units of transfused blood, Sava said. The congressman’s risk of death was now substantially lower because doctors have controlled the bleeding and his vital signs have stabilized.

Scalise, who has had two surgeries, will need additional operations and will be in the hospital for “a considerable period of time, presumably weeks,” Sava said. Because the bullet shattered, there may be hundreds of fragments in Scalise’s body and doctors do not intend to try to remove them all, Sava said. He declined to describe specific internal injuries.

Once recovered, Scalise will be able to walk and hopefully run, the doctor said. He said doctors have turned down Scalise’s sedation levels enough that he has been able to respond to visiting family members.

Scalise, a police officer, a congressional aide and a lobbyist were wounded on Wednesday when a man identified as James Hodgkinson, 66, from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois, opened fire on the lawmakers as they practiced for an annual charity baseball game between Republicans and Democrats. Hodgkinson died after being shot by police.

A list of Republican lawmakers was found on Hodgkinson’s body, CBS News reported, citing an unidentified U.S. official. The list included Representatives Mo Brooks and Jeff Duncan, who were at the practice, and Representative Trent Franks, who was not, CBS said.

The note was not considered an assassination list, the network said.

The FBI declined to comment on the report. The U.S. Capitol Police and representatives for the three lawmakers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The FBI said that the shooter’s weapons found at the scene – a 9mm handgun and 7.62mm caliber rifle – had been legally purchased. The FBI continues to process evidence in an effort to assess the potential motivations of the shooter, the agency said in a statement Friday.

Hodgkinson had a history of posting angry messages against Trump and other Republicans on social media.

Members of Congress took the field at Washington’s Nationals Park on Thursday night for the charity baseball game, many wearing hats to honor Scalise, who has represented Louisiana in the House since 2008.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Bill Trott)

Annual U.S. Congress baseball game brings unity after shooting

Patrick Conroy, Chaplain of the House of Representatives, leads Democrats and Republicans in prayer before they face off in the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

By Amanda Becker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of the U.S. Congress took the field for their traditional Republicans vs. Democrats baseball game on Thursday, with many wearing hats to honor Representative Steve Scalise, who was critically wounded by a gunman as his Republican team practiced a day before.

When the members of the Republican team were announced at Nationals Park, mention of Scalise’s name drew a standing ovation from the areas designated for Republican, Democrat and nonpartisan fans alike.

President Donald Trump did not attend but in a video address shown on the stadium’s giant screen praised the friendly nature of the annual charity event.

David Bailey, a Capitol Hill police officer who was part of Scalise’s security detail and helped bring down the shooter, also was injured in the Wednesday incident but had recovered enough to throw the game’s ceremonial first pitch.

The Democrats won the game, 11-2, but loaned the trophy to the Republicans until Scalise is better.

Both Republican and Democratic leaders at the game encouraged a sense of unity in the wake of the shooting during an otherwise politically rancorous time in Washington when the parties are sharply divided over healthcare legislation and investigations of the members of the Trump administration.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stood side by side to shout: “Let’s play ball!” and the crowd chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!” as the game began.

Scalise, 51, a Louisiana Republican who is the No. 3 House Republican, remained in critical condition at a hospital a few miles from the stadium after undergoing a third surgery on Thursday. He was hit in the left hip, suffering injuries to internal organs, broken bones and severe bleeding, in Wednesday’s shooting.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) greets team mates during the Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

For the game, which began in 1909, members of the Senate and House of Representatives donned uniforms representing teams from their constituencies, and many topped them with hats from Louisiana State University, Scalise’s alma mater, as a tribute.

In addition to Scalise, a police officer, a congressional aide and a lobbyist were shot on Wednesday morning when a man opened fire as the Republican lawmakers practiced for the game in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia.

Nearly 25,000 tickets were sold for the game and it was on track to raise more than $1 million, roughly double what it did last year, organizers said.

Ticket sales picked up after Wednesday’s shooting, eventually setting an attendance record, the organizers said, as attendees such as Alexander Hilten, 16, of Arlington, Virginia, decided to come to the game for the first time.

“A lot of times in politics we have divisions but it shouldn’t come to violence,” he said. “It’s cool that they’re putting it on even after the shooting. It just shows how resilient these politicians are.”

The Capitol Police Memorial Fund was added to the list of charities that will receive money raised by the game in honor of two members of Scalise’s security detail who were at the Wednesday practice session and returned fire. The Washington Nationals Dream Foundation, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the Washington Literary Center are the game’s other beneficiaries.

(This story corrects typographical error in paragraph 2, day of shooting in paragraph 8 and spelling of Hilten’s name in paragraph 12.)

(Reporting by Amanda Becker; additional reporting by Lacey Johnson; Editing by Bill Trott)

UPS worker kills three colleagues in San Francisco, turns gun on himself

Police officers gather outside a United Parcel Service (UPS) facility after a shooting incident was reported in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

By Emmett Berg

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A UPS driver opened fire with a handgun inside a United Parcel Service Inc <UPS.N> delivery center in San Francisco on Wednesday, killing three co-workers before fatally shooting himself as police closed in, authorities and company officials said.

Two people wounded by gunfire were taken to a hospital. Five other people suffered less serious injuries in a frantic exit from the building, San Francisco police said.

The gunshot victims, like the killer, all were UPS drivers, and the attack unfolded as the workers gathered for their daily morning meeting before starting their delivery rounds, said Steve Gaut, head of investor relations at UPS.

Authorities did not immediately identify the suspect or the victims.

Assistant San Francisco Police Chief Toney Chaplin said the gunman shot himself in the head as he was confronted by officers swarming the building. The police never fired a shot.

Authorities offered no possible motive for the violence and Chaplin said at a news conference it was not an act of terrorism.

Police said they recovered two firearms, including the murder weapon, which they described as an assault pistol.

The UPS facility, a package-sorting and delivery hub that serves the greater San Francisco area and employs about 350 workers in the city’s Potrero Hill area, was placed under a security lockdown for six hours.

“We are always saddened by the loss of life to gun violence,” San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said on Twitter. “Any shooting is one shooting too many.”

The UPS shooting erupted hours after an unrelated mass shooting at a baseball practice session in the Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital left a congressman and several others wounded before the assailant was killed by police.

Former congresswoman and gun-safety advocate Gabrielle Giffords, who was gravely wounded in a 2011 assassination attempt in Arizona that claimed six lives, issued a statement lamenting the shootings in Virginia and California, calling them “a stark indication of the scope of gun violence epidemic we face as Americans.”

UPS is providing trauma and grief counseling to employees at the San Francisco center.

Video footage from the scene showed a massive police presence near the facility, with workers being escorted outside and embracing one another on the sidewalk. One worker was found by police hiding inside the sprawling building after the shooting, unaware that the violence was over.

“It was a frightful scene,” Chaplin said.

The San Francisco bloodshed came three years after a UPS employee shot and killed two of his supervisors before turning the gun on himself at a UPS distribution center in Birmingham, Alabama. That gunman had recently been fired from the facility.

The deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history occurred in June 2016 when a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State militant group killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Gun laws in the United States rank among the most permissive of any developed country, with the right to “keep and bear arms” enshrined in the Constitution’s Second Amendment. Efforts to tighten national gun control measures failed after mass shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 and the nightclub shooting in Orlando.

(Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Patrick Enright in Seattle and Nick Carey in Detroit; Writing by Jon Herskovitz and Steve Gorman; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Bill Trott)

U.S. lawmaker Scalise in critical condition after attack by gunman at baseball field

Police investigate a shooting scene after a gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress during a baseball practice near Washington in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

By Sarah N. Lynch and Ross Colvin

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) – Congressman Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, was in critical condition on Wednesday night after he and three others were shot as they practiced for a charity baseball game.

The gunman, who had posted angry messages against President Donald Trump and other Republicans on social media, opened fire on a group of Republican lawmakers and colleagues at a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington. He was wounded in a gunfight with Capitol Hill police at the scene and later died.

Scalise was shot in the left hip, suffering broken bones, injuries to internal organs and severe bleeding.

He underwent surgery but would need further operations, the MedStar Washington Hospital Center said.

“Rep. Steve Scalise, one of the truly great people, is in very tough shape – but he is a real fighter. Pray for Steve!” Trump said on Twitter after visiting the hospital on Wednesday night.

The gunman, identified by police as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois, fired repeatedly at the men playing on the baseball field on Wednesday morning.

Congressmen at the ballpark described hearing loud noises like the sound of firecrackers and 15 to 20 people lying on the ground and realizing they had only baseball bats to defend themselves against bullets.

“When he started shooting, he was shooting to kill people. And thank God he wasn’t a very good shot,” said Representative Joe Barton, the Republican team’s manager.

Also wounded were a congressional aide and one former aide who now works as a lobbyist, officials said. One Capitol Hill police officer suffered a gunshot wound and another officer twisted an ankle and was released from a hospital, police said.

“It was not only chaotic but it was a combat situation,” Alexandria Police Chief Mike Brown told reporters.

FILE PHOTO – House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) speaks with Peter Welch (D-VT) before the markup of the the American Health Care Act, the Republican replacement to Obamacare, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. on March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

‘IT’S GOT TO STOP’

While police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was too early to determine whether it was a deliberate political attack, the shooting intensified concerns about the sharp divide and bitter rhetoric in U.S. politics.

FBI special agent Tim Slater declined to comment on whether the gunman had a vendetta against Republicans.

“We continue to actively investigate the shooter’s motives, acquaintances and whereabouts that led to today’s incidents,” Slater told reporters. No one else was in custody, he said.

The gunman was believed to have been in the Alexandria area since March, Slater said. Investigators believe that the suspect had been living out of his vehicle.

Wednesday’s shooting revived debate about gun rights in America. Virginia’s Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, urged gun control measures.

Scalise has been a strong opponent of gun control measures.

Hodgkinson had raged against Trump on social media and was a member of anti-Republican groups on Facebook including, “The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans,” “Terminate The Republican Party,” and “Donald Trump is not my President,” a search of his Facebook profile showed.

As businessman Trump rose to become the Republican nominee in the 2016 presidential election, his brash style and outspoken views on immigration and other policies led to mass protests, including on the weekend of his inauguration in January.

The charity ballgame between a Republican team and a Democratic team will go ahead as scheduled on Thursday at Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team.

Representative Tim Ryan, who early on Wednesday was practicing for the ballgame with fellow Democrats, told reporters that Washington politicians needed to cool their rhetoric.

“We’ve got to get back to … where things aren’t so personal and we’re so judgmental of each other. It’s got to stop. A member of the U.S. Congress got shot because they didn’t like (his) political views,” Ryan said.

CALLS FOR UNITY

Trump, who announced the gunman’s death, called for unity. “We are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good,” he said.

In a show of bipartisanship, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said on the floor of the House: “An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.” The House’s top Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, echoed Ryan’s message.

The shooting happened shortly after 7 a.m. There were 20 House members and two senators present, and the shooting lasted about 10 minutes, said Barton.

Two lawmakers who were at the scene, Representatives Ron DeSantis and Jeff Duncan, indicated there might have been a political motive in the attack.

Duncan said that as he left the field, the man who would later open fire approached him in the parking lot. “He asked me who was practicing this morning, Republicans or Democrats, and I said: ‘That’s the Republicans practicing,'” Duncan told reporters. DeSantis gave a similar account.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who sought the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, said he had been told that Hodgkinson had served as a volunteer with his campaign.

“Let me be as clear as I can be: Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms,” Sanders said.

Ryan, the House speaker, is reviewing rules on how rank-and-file lawmakers can increase their personal security, according to several lawmakers.

“Members get threats on a regular basis and have trouble determining which are real,” House Democratic whip Steny Hoyer told reporters.

‘HEROISM’ OF POLICE

The shooting took place at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, across the Potomac River from Washington.

Representative Mo Brooks told CNN that during batting practice, he heard a “bam” and then a quick succession of shots and saw the gunman shooting through the holes in a chain link fence.

When Scalise was shot, he went down on the infield between first and second base, then dragged himself into the grassy outfield as the incident unfolded, leaving a trail of blood, Brooks said.

Two Capitol police officers who were there to provide security for the lawmakers engaged the gunman with pistols, Brooks said.

“But for the Capitol police and the heroism they showed, it could very well have been a large-scale massacre. All we would have had would have been baseball bats versus a rifle. Those aren’t good odds,” Brooks said.

Wednesday’s attack was the first shooting of a member of Congress since January 2011, when Democratic Representative Gabby Giffords was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt at a gathering of constituents in Tucson, Arizona. Six people were killed. Giffords resigned from Congress and became an activist for gun restrictions.

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell, David Morgan, Richard Cowan, Patricia Zengerle, Julia Edwards Ainsley, Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey, Steve Holland and David Alexander in Washington and Gina Cherelus and Peter Szekely in New York; Writing by Will Dunham, Grant McCool and Amanda Becker; Editing by Frances Kerry and Peter Cooney)

President Trump calls for prayer after shooting

By Kami Klein

In response to the shooting at Simpson Park in Alexandria of House majority Whip Steve Scalise along with the wounding of four others, President Trump called for prayer, reminding the nation: “We may have our differences, but we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in this nation’s capital, above all, they love our country.”

In a special session just hours after the President’s press conference, House speaker Paul Ryan stressed to the Senate that “An attack on one of us, is an attack on ALL of us.” He remarked that the most memorable picture that he hoped would be remembered after this day was of the Democratic leadership engaged in prayer for the fallen. With great emotion in his voice he stated. “We are one House. The People’s House, and we are one in humanity.”

As followers of Christ, we understand the power of prayer and of God’s mercy. Praying is bipartisan and does not belong to one political party or the other nor is it only for our nation but for the entire world for we are all God’s children.

We must always remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:19-20 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are assembled in My name, there I am in their midst.”

In his address to the press this morning, President Trump added that “we are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good.” In this Church family, we stand together by the thousands, and we are asking that all of us join in prayer now for our nation.

Please pray for those that were wounded today, Steve Scalise, Officers Crystal Griner and David Bailey as well as Zachary Barth and Matt Mika. Pray for their quick recovery and for their family and friends as they must now be ready to help in their healing with loving support. Pray with gratitude for the protection of so many from what could have been a massacre and the law enforcement who put their lives on the line without a second thought. And pray with compassion for the suspect’s family who must also cope with the shock of this attack.

As Christians, we are commanded to love one another. This nation needs God’s love and as His children, we must be HIS example. Our first step must be in prayer.

At least four killed in San Francisco UPS facility shooting: TV news

(Reuters) – At least four people were killed, including the suspected gunman, when a disgruntled United Parcel Service Inc <UPS.N> employee opened fire at a company facility in San Francisco, two local TV news stations reported.

After firing on co-workers, the suspect turned a gun on himself when confronted by police, according to NBC Bay Area and ABC 7. He later died at an area hospital, they said, citing law enforcement sources.

San Francisco police said the building was secure but offered no immediate information on victims.

Live video showed a massive police presence near the facility that employs 350, with employees being led out and embracing each other on the sidewalk outside.

“UPS confirms there was an incident involving employees within the company’s facility in San Francisco earlier this morning,” the company said in a statement.

“Local law enforcement have control of the facility and are conducting an investigation. We cannot provide information as to the identity of persons involved at this time, pending the police investigation,” the statement said.

Victims were taken to the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, spokesman Brent Andrew said. He said he could not say how many patients were taken to the hospital or give their conditions.

United Parcel Service vans are seen parked outside a UPS facility after a shooting incident was reported in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Tom Brown and Lisa Shumaker)

At least 3 people injured in San Francisco shooting: local media

(Reuters) – At least three people were injured, including the suspected gunman, in a shooting on Wednesday at a United Parcel Service facility in San Francisco, local media reported.

San Francisco police on Twitter confirmed a shooting had taken place and advised people to avoid the area.

The suspect was hospitalized in police custody, local media reported.

It was not immediately clear if anyone had died.

The shooting occurred in the area of a United Parcel Service <UPS.N> facility, CBS San Francisco and other local media outlets reported, citing authorities. A San Francisco police representative could not immediately be reached for comment.

(This story has been refiled to correct first paragraph to say United Parcel Service facility … instead of … United Postal Service facility.)

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Tom Brown)

Top Republican among wounded as gunman fires on U.S. lawmakers

U.S. Capitol Police keep watch on Capitol Hill following a shooting in nearby Alexandria, in Washington, U.S., June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

By Sarah N. Lynch and Ross Colvin

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) – A gunman opened fire on Wednesday on Republican U.S. lawmakers who were practicing near Washington for a charity baseball game, wounding senior Republican leader Steve Scalise and several others before being taken into custody, police and witnesses said.

The gunman died later of his injuries, President Donald Trump announced at the White House.

Lawmakers said the shooter, who was armed with a rifle, had exchanged fire with Capitol Hill police who were at the scene and was shot before being taken into custody.

Scalise, No. 3 in the House of Representatives Republican leadership, was shot in the hip at the baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia. He was tended to by fellow lawmakers including Brad Wenstrup, an Ohio congressman who is a physician, before being transported to a hospital.

Five people were taken from the scene to hospitals, Alexandria’s police chief, Michael Brown, told reporters. Two of the wounded were Capitol Hill police, witnesses said.

Trump, a Republican, said Scalise, a Louisiana congressman, was “badly injured” but in stable condition. He said two of the wounded were congressional staffers.

At a news conference, authorities declined to identify the suspect. The Washington Post, quoting unnamed law enforcement officials, identified him as James Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Illinois. The Post reported that he owned a home inspection business.

Police and the FBI said it was too early to determine a motive in the shooting or whether the attack was an attempted political assassination.

Some 25 to 30 Republican members of the House and Senate had gathered for an early morning practice a day before the annual charity congressional baseball game pitting Republicans against Democrats, said Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama. The game is scheduled to be played at Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals Major League baseball team.

One congressman at the scene indicated there might have been a political motive in the attack.

“We reported to police that there was a gentleman that confronted us when we were going to our car and he wanted to know whether it was Republicans or Democrats that were out there. We said it was Republicans and he kind of started walking to the field,” Representative Ron DeSantis told Fox Business Network.

DeSantis said he did not know whether the man was the shooter.

Representative Joe Barton, who was at the scene, told reporters the gunman was a middle-aged man who appeared to be white and was wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt. Brooks said the shooter said nothing during the rampage.

The shooting took place at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, which is across the Potomac River from Washington.

CAPITOL POLICE ‘HEROISM’

Brooks told CNN that during batting practice he heard a “bam” and then a quick succession of shots and saw the gunman shooting through the holes in a chain link fence.

When Scalise was shot he went down on the infield between first and second base, then dragged himself into the grassy outfield as the incident unfolded, leaving a trail of blood, Brooks said.

Two Capitol police officers who were at the scene to provide security for the lawmakers engaged the gunman with pistols, Brooks said, adding both the officers were wounded.

Brooks estimated that there were 50 to 100 shots fired.

“It’s pretty well known in the neighborhood who those folks are on the baseball field,” Brooks said. “It’s not a secret we are practicing … He was going after elected officials.”

Scalise’s position as whip means he has the difficult job of trying to keep order in the fractious party ranks and rounding up votes for bills.

The shooting was certain to raise again the contentious issue of gun violence in the United States.

Scalise has been an outspoken opponent of gun control measures and has earned an “A+” rating from the National Rifle Association – the influential lobby for expanding gun ownership rights. He has co-sponsored legislation to weaken gun control laws in the District of Columbia.

‘NO SHELTER’

David Miller, who saw the shooting, described a scene in which some players were far enough away from the gunman to run for shelter, while others were pinned down in the middle of the ball field.

“There was absolutely no shelter. They were in the middle of the ball park,” he said. “They can’t run. If they get up they are a target.”

Susan Griffiths, spokeswoman for George Washington University Hospital Center, said two people were being treated there and were in critical condition.

Wednesday’s incident was the first shooting of a member of the U.S. Congress since January 2011, when Democratic Representative Gabby Giffords was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt at a gathering of her constituents in Tucson, Arizona.

She survived, but six people were killed. Giffords resigned from Congress and became an activist for gun restrictions.

“My heart is with my former colleagues, their families & staff, and the US Capitol Police- public servants and heroes today and every day,” she said in a Twitter message.

(Additional reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley, Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey in Washington and Gina Cherelus in New York; Writing by Daniel Wallis, Kieran Murray and Will Dunham; Editing by Frances Kerry)

Gunman wounds several at congressional baseball practice in Virginia

FILE PHOTO - House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, hours before an expected vote to repeal Obamacare in Washington, D.C., U.S. on May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress during a baseball practice near Washington early on Wednesday, wounding several people including House of Representatives Majority Whip Steve Scalise before being taken into custody, police and witnesses said.

Five people were transported medically from the scene in Alexandria, the city’s police chief, Michael Brown told reporters. Two of the wounded were Capitol Hill police who were at the scene, witnesses said.

In a dramatic blow-by-blow account, Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama told CNN the gunman was armed with a rifle and appeared to be a white male.

Brooks said he saw the man only for a second, and that he was shooting from a chain link fence behind the third base position on the field where the congressional group was holding an early morning morning practice ahead of a game against Democrats this week.

“There must have been 50 to 100 shots fired,” he told CNN. “I hear Steve Scalise over near second base scream. He was shot,” said Brooks, adding he helped apply a tourniquet with his belt to a congressional staffer who was shot in the leg.

“One of our security detail was shooting back, but it was our pistol versus the shooter’s rifle,” Brooks said. “The only weapon I had was a baseball bat.”

Republican Senator Jeff Flake told local ABC-TV Scalise was shot in the left hip. Flake said the gunman was shot.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Twitter message that Scalise, “a true friend and patriot, was badly injured but will fully recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.”

Scalise’s position as whip in the Republican-controlled House makes him one of the most senior figures in Congress. He is a representative from Louisiana.

The group were practicing for the annual Democrats versus Republicans congressional baseball game that was scheduled to be played on Thursday.

‘GOING AFTER ELECTED OFFICIALS’

“It’s pretty well known in the neighborhood who those folks are on the baseball field,” Brooks said. “It’s not a secret we are practicing … He was going after elected officials.”

Democrats were also practicing at another field at a different location, CNN reported.

Reba Winstead lives across the street from the parking lot of the park where the shooting occurred.

“I was on my front porch and that is when I heard the first round of shots. There was about a dozen shots. There was a pause. Then there was more shooting. I called 911.”

Trump, a Republican, said in a statement that he and Vice President Mike Pence were monitoring developments closely.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the members of Congress, their staffs, Capitol Police, first responders, and all others affected,” he said.

Steve Scalise is the third-highest ranked member of the Republican leadership in the House, and has the difficult job of trying to keep order in the fractious party ranks and rounding up votes for bills.

(Reporting by Susan Heavy and Doina Chiacu in Washingon, Gina Cherelus in New York; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Frances Kerry)

Gunman shoots congressman, police at Virginia baseball practice

U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) leaves during the House vote on continuing a resolution on a budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

(Reuters) – A gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress during a baseball practice near Washington early on Wednesday, wounding several people including House of Representatives Majority Whip Steve Scalise before being taken into custody, police and media reports said.

The shooter appeared to be a white male, “a little bit on the chubby side,” Representative Mo Brooks told CNN, adding that he only saw the man for second.

Brooks said he heard 10 to 20 rounds from the gunman’s rifle before the security detail returned fire. He said there were 20 to 25 members of team at the practice in Alexandria, Virginia, when the gunfire erupted.

(Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Frances Kerry)

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