Rep. Steve Scalise and others were shot during a practice for the Congressional Baseball Game on Wednesday morning.
Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, who was among the members of the Republican team practicing, told CNN a gunman with a rifle approached the field from behind one of the dugouts at a neighborhood ballpark in Alexandria, Va.
Brooks said Scalise, the House Majority Whip from Louisiana, was hit in the hip, and about four other people were shot.
Scalise's office said the 51-year-old congressman was in stable condition at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Other victims were identified as Matt Mika, a lobbyist for Tyson Foods, and Zack Barth, an aide to Rep. Roger Williams of Texas.
Screenshot via @CBSNews of @SteveScalise following shooting at Congressional baseball practice. pic.twitter.com/3ES4FAWe1U
— Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) June 14, 2017
Brooks said he saw the gunman fire several shots before he was able to react and ran behind a batting cage set up behind home plate.
"There were probably 10, 20, 30 shots fired while two or three of us were seeking cover," Brooks told CNN, estimating that about 50 shots were fired overall.
A security detail from the United States Capitol Police was on the scene and exchanged gunfire with the assailant, later identified by law enforcement officials as James T. Hodgkinson of Belleville, Ill.
President Donald Trump said in remarks from the White House late Wednesday morning that the suspect had died of his wounds.
Active shooter situation during this mornings trip to the Y. Terrifying. Am ok. Sheltered in place & under lockdown. pic.twitter.com/iJs6fZpjiK
— Joseph Miscavige (@JoeMiscavige) June 14, 2017
The Congressional Baseball Game is scheduled to be played Thursday night at Nationals Park in Washington. An annual event in D.C. for decades, the game raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity every year.
