The gunman who shot Republican whip Steve Scalise asked about political affiliation before opening fire on lawmakers practicing for a congressional baseball game.

Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) left practice shortly before the shooting, and he believes he spoke with the gunman briefly before getting into a car with his staffers about 7:10 a.m., reported Fox News.

“There was a guy that walked up to us that was asking whether it was Republicans or Democrats out there,” DeSantis said. “It was just a little odd, and then he kind of walked toward the area where all this happened.”

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The Florida Republican said the man was not carrying anything when he spoke to him, but DeSantis believes he fired the shots a short time later.

“There was no one that was obviously walking around with a rifle at the time, but it was just a little odd that he kind of really, you know, walked up to us and asked and then went ahead — it was probably about three minutes, five minutes after we pulled out of the parking lot,” DeSantis said.