US Rep. Steve Scalise critical after shooting at baseball practice; gunman dead

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A top House Republican, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, was shot by a rifle-wielding gunman Wednesday at a congressional baseball practice just outside of Washington.

President Donald Trump said the shooter, identified as James T. Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Illinois, has died.

Capitol police said officers who were part of Scalise's security detail returned fire and wounded the shooter, who was taken into custody.

Five people were taken to area hospitals, including the suspect, Alexandria police said.

Hodgkinson was a home inspector who had several minor run-ins with the law in recent years and belonged to a Facebook group called "Terminate the Republican Party."

Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, said in a statement that Hodgkinson "apparently volunteered" on his presidential campaign.

"I am sickened by this despicable act," Sanders said.

Scalise, the House majority whip, was in critical condition at MedStar Washington Hospital Center after undergoing surgery, the hospital said on Twitter.

The shooting occurred at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Alexandria, Virginia, where lawmakers and others were gathered for a morning practice about 7 a.m. The Congressional Baseball Game for Charity between Democrats and Republicans was scheduled to be played Thursday.

"All of a sudden we heard a very loud shot. The gunman was over by the third base dugout with a clear view of the field," Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, told CNN.

Once the gunman was down, Flake ran to Scalise and tended to him. He said he grabbed Scalise's phone to call his wife.

"I just didn't want her to wake up and learn the news," Flake said.

Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, said several other people also were hit, including two law enforcement officers. 

Brooks said that Scalise, 51, was down on the ground with what Brooks described as "a hip wound."

Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Michigan, said Scalise was standing on second base when he was shot.

"I was looking right at him," Bishop told Detroit radio station WWJ. "He was a sitting duck."

Brooks said Scalise "crawled into the outfield, leaving a trail of blood.""We started giving him the liquids," Brooks said. "I put pressure on his wound in his hip."

Scalise is the No. 3 House Republican leader. He was first elected to the House in 2008 after serving in the state legislature.

Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-South Carolina, said in a statement that he was at the practice and "saw the shooter."

"Please pray for my colleagues," Duncan said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan's office said Scalise's wounds were not believed to be life-threatening and that a member of the security detail was also shot.

Four Florida congressmen -- Ron Desantis, Matt Gaetz, Dennis Ross and Tom Rooney -- were on the Republican congressional baseball team roster.

DeSantis, who was at the practice, said he had a strange encounter with a man moments before the shooting.

"There was a guy that walked up to us that was asking whether it was Republicans and Democrats out there," DeSantis told Fox News. "And it was just a little odd."

DeSantis said the man wasn't carrying anything at the time.