Scalise shooting suspect ID'd as James Hodgkinson
James T. Hodgkinson | via Facebook
FOX NEWS - House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and a congressional aide were shot by a rifle-wielding gunman who sprayed a hail of bullets at a GOP baseball practice in Virginia Wednesday morning, before U.S. Capitol Police took the gunman down.
The shooter was identified as 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson, of Illinois, Fox News confirmed.
Scalise was "badly injured," according to a tweet from President Trump, but is expected to recover. A news release from Scalise's office said he was "stable" and undergoing surgery after being shot in the hip. Five people were "transported medically" from the scene, Alexandria Police Chief Michael Brown said. It appeared that included Scalise, Zack Barth, a congressional aide to Roger Williams, Hodgkinson and two law enforcement officers -- one of whom was hit by fragments. Tyson Foods director of government relations Matt Mika was also injured, the company said.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Fox News: "We were like sitting ducks."
Without the Capitol Hill police it would have been a massacre," Paul said, describing the scene as "sort of a killing field."
The gunman was shot by Capitol Police and Alexandria Police, apprehended and taken to the hospital, officials said. The incident occurred at Simpson Field in Alexandria, about 10 miles from Washington D.C. The FBI was taking over the investigation because a federal official -- Scalise -- was assaulted in the attack.