
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was in a critical condition in hospital on Wednesday afternoon after he was shot by a Trump-hating gunman who opened fire on Republican congressional baseball practice.

The Louisiana congressman was shot in the hip as he stood on second base at the field in Alexandria, Virginia at 7am on Wednesday. His staff initially described his condition as 'stable' but the Medstar Hospital in Washington DC later said that Scalise was in critical condition after having surgery.

He was among five injured when James T. Hodgkinson, 66, opened fire on the Republicans with an assault rifle from the third base dugout at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Alexandria, Virginia, as the group practiced batting at around 7.00am.

Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup, who tended to Scalise on the scene immediately after the incident, told CNN he was concerned that he was unable to locate an exit wound for the bullet that he said hit the lawmaker in the hip.

He said he posited that the bullet might have impacted on the hip bone, but raised a concern that the bullet could have ricocheted. In that case, it could have caused internal bleeding or impacted internal organs.

Wenstrup is a podiatrist who served in Iraq. The lack of a clear path for the bullet through Scalise's leg could explain why he remained in critical condition following surgery. Wenstrup raised concerns about fluid loss in the case of Scalise.

Lawmakers who witnessed the incident described a period of time running several minutes where Scalise lay bleeding but was unable to get medical attention because of the active shooter situation. He indicated he was able to get control of the external wound, but wasn't aware of whether there were internal injuries or internal blood loss. Rep. Mo Brooks described working with Wenstrup to use a belt to make a tourniquet to stop blood loss.

Zachary Barth, a congressional staffer for Texas Rep. Roger Williams, was shot in the leg but he is expected to fully recover. Two hero US Capitol Police officers - identified as Krystal Griner and David Bailey - were wounded as they exchanged fire with the gunman. The cops, who were accompanying Scalise, are both in a 'good condition' in hospital.

A fifth person, a lobbyist and Tyson Foods employee identified as Matt Mika, was also shot and taken to hospital, but his condition is not yet known.

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House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot in the hip at a GOP baseball practice on Wednesday by a gunman who launched a targeted attack on the group. He was taken to hospital and is in critical after crawling to safety while his Capitol Hill police escort exchanged gunfire with the shooter

Victims: Zachary Barth (left), a congressional staffer for Texas Rep. Roger Williams, and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (center) are expected to both recover from their injuries

Two hero US Capitol Police officers - identified as Krystal Griner and David Bailey (left) - were wounded when they exchanged gunfire. Lobbyist Matt Mika (right) was also shot but his condition is not yet known

Scalise was one of five injured by the gunman who fired up to 100 rounds before he was wounded by Capitol Police

Scalise's office had earlier said while he was undergoing emergency surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center that he was in 'stable condition.'

'Prior to entering surgery, the Whip was in good spirits and spoke to his wife by phone,' a spokesperson said. 'He is grateful for the brave actions of US Capitol Police, first responders, and colleagues.'

Texas Rep. Roger Williams tweeted that Barth, a legislative correspondent in his office, was being treated in hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. Barth wrote on Facebook shortly after: 'I got shot this morning at the baseball fields but I am in the hospital and okay. Thank you for the thoughts and prayers.'

The gunman, a staunch Democrat who volunteered for Bernie Sanders' campaign, was killed when the two cops returned fire.

Hodgkinson opened fire from behind the third base dugout while the players were on the field. Senator Rand Paul, who was at the scene but was not injured, described it as a 'killing field', while Michigan Rep. Mike Bishop said the men were 'sitting ducks' for the gunman and his M4 rifle.

Moments before the attack, a man - thought to be the shooter - asked if the group were Republicans or Democrats, Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis said. North Carolina Rep. Mike Walker told NBC News the 'gunman was there to kill as many Republican members as possible.'

Bishop described how one of the cops stood his ground to return fire as the congressmen and at least one of their children dove for cover in a dugout and Scalise dragged himself across the field after being hit, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

James T. Hodgkinson, 66, died in hospital after he opened fire on the Republicans with a high powered rifle Wednesday. He is a staunch Democrat who volunteered for Bernie Sanders' campaign last year

'As we were standing here this morning, a gunman walked up to the fence line and just began to shoot. I was standing at home plate and he was in the third base line,' he told CBS Detroit. 'He had a rifle that was clearly meant for the job of taking people out, multiple casualties, and he had several rounds and magazines that he kept unloading and reloading.'

He said: 'The only reason why any of us walked out of this thing, by the grace of God, one of the folks here had a weapon to fire back and give us a moment to find cover.'

'We were inside the backstop and if we didn't have that cover by a brave person who stood up and took a shot themselves, we would not have gotten out of there and every one of us would have been hit - every single one of us.

'He was coming around the fence line and he was looking for all of us who had found cover in different spots. But if we didn't have return fire right there, he would have come up to each one of us and shot us point-blank.'

President Donald Trump also praised the two cops for their 'heroic actions', saying 'many lives' would have been lost if they had not been there.

'Congressman Scalise is a friend and a very good friend. He's a patriot and he's a fighter. He will recover from this assault and Steve, I want you to know that you have the prayers, not only of the entire city behind you, but of an entire nation and, frankly, the entire world,' Trump said.

'Many lives would have been lost if not for the heroic actions of the two Capitol Police officers who took down the gunman despite sustaining gunshot wounds during a very, very brutal assault.

'Melania and I are grateful for their heroism and praying for the swift recovery of all victims.'

The group was practicing for a charity match which is due to take place on Thursday at Nationals Park when they were attacked. Three men escaped and took shelter in an apartment building nearby.

The gunman, who reportedly used an M4 rifle, opened fire as all the men stood on the field. Most dove for cover in a dugout while Scalise was dropped by his wound.

The men were practicing at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park ahead of a charity match on Thursday when the gunman opened fire at 7am

Texas Rep. Roger Williams (above) was not shot but was injured in the chaos as he tried to flee. One of his staffers suffered a gunshot wound to the leg

Williams is seen being taken to hospital after the shooting which took place as the men practiced batting at 7am

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake (left) was also on the field at the time of the shooting. He said he wanted to get to Scalise, who was lying in the middle of the field, but couldn't. After the shooter was brought down, he called Scalise's wife to tell her he'd been shot

A man who was injured in the leg receives treatment at the scene. Some of those hurt were not shot but suffered injuries as they tried to escape the field

Rep. Mo Brooks appeared emotional as he spoke on the phone moments after the shooting. He helped give first aid to those shot

THE TRUMP-HATING GUNMAN'S SOCIAL MEDIA RANTS James T. Hodgkinson raged against Donald Trump and the Republican establishment in a number of social media posts. The fervent Bernie Sanders support also shared many articles and images in support of the defeated Democratic presidential hopeful. The 66-year-old shooter's social media history has been highlighted in the wake of Wednesday's shooting. Advertisement

Hodgkinson had documented his hatred for the president in Facebook and Twitter posts where he threatened to 'destroy Trump & co' and labeled him a 'traitor'.

He has a history of gun violence, previously pointing one at a man during a family argument in 2006. He was once arrested for domestic battery and faced other charges for DUI, attempting to elude police and obstructing a police officer.

According to the gunman's family, he was distraught about Trump's November election win. His estranged brother told The New York Times that he had traveled to Virginia two months ago and had signed up for a membership at the YMCA opposite the baseball field he attacked but cancelled it this week.

He had been living out of a gym bag and spoke daily to former Alexandria mayor Bill Euille who was admitted trying to help him get a job before Wednesday's attack.

'He was a very friendly person, but what I did notice about this gentleman is he’d open up his gym bag and in it, he had everything he owned. He was living out of the gym bag. That, and he sat in the Y’s lobby for hours and hours. Outside of myself, I don’t think he knew anyone else in town,' he told The Washington Post.

An acquaintance who worked with him on Sanders' 2016 campaign for the Democratic nomination told The Washington Post: 'I met him on the Bernie trail in Iowa, worked with him in the Quad Cities area.

'He was this union tradesman, pretty stocky, and we stayed up talking politics. He was more on the really progressive side of things,' Charles Orear said, adding that Hodgkinson was 'quite mellow'.

A friend of the man spoke outside his home in Belleville, Illinois - 800 miles from where the shooting occurred - to say he was a 'nice guy'.

Despite his hateful social media posts and criminal history, sources told CNN the man was not on the Secret Service's radar.

James T. Hodgkinson (pictured right campaigning against Republicans in 2012) was a hateful Trump opponent who threatened to 'destroy' the president on social media before attacking a GOP baseball practice on Wednesday

Hodgkinson's estranged brother revealed that in the days before the shooting, he called his wife Sue (above together) to say he was planning to come home from Virginia because he missed her and their dogs

Hodgkinson had a lengthy criminal record which includes charges, but no convictions, for DUI, domestic battery, pointing a gun at a relative. He is seen in mugshots in 1992 (left) and 2006 (right)

Speaking to FM Talk 1065 moments after the shooting, he told how the group was practicing batting when he suddenly saw the shooter.

'Suddenly there's this face. I noticed the guy's got a rifle and he's shooting at us,' he said.

As he took shelter with others in the group, which also included Rep. Gary Palmer, Brooks said he watched Scalise crawl to them as the police exchanged gunfire with pistols.

'He was dragging his body away from second base to get away from the shooter. He was shot in the hip. I think it was not a life-threatening wound... There was no exit wound I could see.'

'There was a blood trail about 10 to 15 yards long from where he was shot to where he crawled to right field,' he told CNN.

Brooks caught a brief glimpse of the shooter and described him as a white, middle-aged male. He said he described him as being 'a little on the chubby side' but not obese.

Scalise, as a member of the House leadership, was the only one in the group who had been accompanied by a Capitol Police security detail.

Senator Rand Paul, who was not hurt, said that without the armed officers, all of those targeted would have died

'Had they not been there, it would have been a massacre. As terrible as it is, it could have been a lot worse.

Members of the team said they often practiced at the stadium park ahead of the annual charity match. They are ordinarily met by friendly by-passers and local residents

The men's kit lay abandoned on the field as the scene around the baseball field was taped off

Police at the field on Wednesday. The FBI joined Alexandria Police and Capitol Hill Police to work at the scene

A Twitter user posted this picture of what appeared to be a gunshot hole in a window as he took cover in the YMCA in Alexandria

Sen. Jeff Flake is pictured walking away from the chaotic scene outside the stadium park

'Had it not been for them, we would have been at the mercy of the shooter and he had a lot of ammo. All we would have had was baseball bats.'

'The Capitol Hill police cannot get enough praise for really saving everyone's life out there,' he said.

Describing the scene as a 'killing field', he added: 'He would have shot anybody who ran out.'

Ohio Republican Rep. Brad Robert Wenstrup, a doctor and an Army Reserve officer, was on the scene and helped treat the wounded before paramedics arrived.

'I felt like I was back in Iraq, but without my weapon,' he told Fox News.

Arizona Rep. Senator Jeff Flake described watching as the gunman sprayed bullets on the field, where Scalise lay on the ground.

As his Capitol Hill protection officers exchanged fire, he said the group were helpless.

'I wanted to get to Steve Scalise, laying out there in the field, but while there were bullets flying overhead, I couldn't,' he told ABC.

All who have spoken since the attack said they were saved by having two trained doctors, including Wenstrup, on the team.

He administered immediate aid to Scalise before handing over to Brooks while he cut off his clothing. 'We were very fortunate to have a physician on the team.'

Sen. Paul is a trained opthalmologist. He said he was unable to get to Scalise because he was separated by part of the field and a fence while the active situation was ongoing.

One local resident was in his apartment with his wife when they were woken by the gunshots. They sheltered three members of the team after seeing them run for their lives from the field.

'We were able to get them in a safe space for a couple of minutes. They were pretty shaken up,' he said.

At a press conference at The White House on Wednesday, President Donald Trump praised the two cops for their 'heroic actions', saying 'many lives' would have been lost if they had not been there

Sen. Rand Paul (left) and Rep. Mo Brooks (right) were also at the practice but were not injured. They helped treat the wounds of the injured with their belts and cloths until emergency services arrived

President Trump said Scalise would make a full recovery. He paid tribute to him as a 'true friend and patriot'

Scalise is the Republican majority whip in the House of Representatives – the congressman responsible for counting votes and maintaining party discipline.

The Louisianan, a 51-year-old father of two, is counted among conservatives in Congress who tend to back President Donald Trump's more controversial initiatives, including calling his famous travel ban a 'prudent' measure. he endorsed Trump unreservedly last year.

Scalise came under fire in 2014 for remarks he made in 2002 at a conference run by a group that he later learned was a white supremacist organization.

The infamous former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, who founded the group, blasted Scalise as a 'sellout' for apologizing.

The congressional baseball game is an annual tradition pitting members of the Democratic and Republican parties against each other. The game is set to take place on Thursday at Nationals Park.

Democratic members of Congress canceled their own baseball practice on Wednesday morning after news broke about the shooting. Many of those lawmakers gathered to pray for their political opponents in a concrete dugout before leaving under the guard of a Capitol Police escort.

As talk in Washington turned to the political ramifications of a high-profile shooting that affected lawmakers, fault lines began to emerge.

'This kind of mindless violence must stop,' California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a statement that hinted at her longstanding support for gun-control laws.

'I'm dedicated to doing all I can to putting an end to these senseless tragedies.'

There was heightened security in the capitol after the shooting on Wednesday morning