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)
Shots were fired on a group of Republican lawmakers in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday morning and witnesses say that several aides and members were hit.
Among those who were shot were Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), according to Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Al.) Brooks told reporters he used his belt as a tourniquet to stop Scalise’s bleeding. Scalise’s injuries were not life-threatening, ABC and NBC reported.
Alexandria Police said the shooter is in custody and that victims were being transported to nearby hospitals.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-K.Y.) who was also at the practice, told MSNBC that Scalise crawled through the dirt, bleeding, to get away from the shooter. Paul also said that a number of aides were laying down during the shooting as the shooter fired bullets their way. He said he saw one stand up to run away, jumping over a high fence without apparently being shot.
The lawmakers were at baseball practice, as is customary this time of year in preparation for the annual congressional baseball game. Capitol Police were also present at the event.
Lawmakers from both parties expressed sympathy for the victims. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation.
Steve Scalise, the majority whip of the House of Representatives, was shot at a baseball field in Alexandria, Va., when a gunman opened fire at field near a Y.M.C.A., a congressional official said on Wednesday.
The police in Alexandria, Va., confirmed they were investigating a multiple shooting at the baseball field. The site includes both a Y.M.C.A. and a park with baseball fields where members of the congressional baseball team regularly practice, and there were reports on Twitter that the shooting took place while members of the team were practicing.
Joseph Miscavige, who was at the Y.M.C.A. at the time of the shooting, said he saw victims being taken away by ambulances. He said the shooting happened around 7:20 a.m. and that the gunman opened fire on the field, where a baseball team was practicing.
About 50 shots were fired, congressional sources said.