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Congressional Baseball Game to Proceed Despite Shooting

by VOA News

   U.S. President Donald Trump said Congressman Steve Scalise is "in some
   trouble" as he fights to recover from a gunshot wound sustained
   Wednesday in a surprise attack on Republican lawmakers at a baseball
   practice just outside Washington.

   "He's a great fighter and he's gonna be ok, we hope," the president
   said at a White House news conference Thursday just hours after
   visiting Scalise the night before at a Washington hospital.

   Scalise remains in critical condition following surgery, with the
   hospital treating him saying in a statement Wednesday night "he will
   require additional operations."

   As Majority Whip, Scalise is the third highest ranking congressman in
   the House of Representatives. He was wounded when an attacker armed
   with a rifle and a handgun fired on Republican lawmakers who were
   preparing for Thursday's annual game against a team of Democrats.

   The gunman, 66-year-old James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois, was
   wounded by Capitol Police and later died.

   The attack happened at a park in Alexandria, Virginia, just across the
   Potomac River from Washington where Thursday's game will be held.

   Trump visited MedStar Washington Hospital Center along with his wife,
   Melania, Wednesday night to see Scalise and his family, and to meet
   with Griner and her wife. The president later wrote on Twitter that
   Scalise is in "very tough shape" but is "a real fighter."

   Trump said earlier in remarks at the White House that the shootings are
   a reminder for all citizens to overcome the political polarization that
   has gripped Washington and the rest of the nation.

   "We may have our differences, but we do well, in times like these, to
   remember that everyone who serves in our nation's capital is here
   because, above all, they love our country," he said.

   WATCH: Trump statement on shooting

   Motive still unclear

   Authorities said Wednesday there was not yet a clear motive for the
   shooting, as the FBI investigated Hodgkinson's associations and social
   media postings.

   Congressman Jeff Duncan told police Hodgkinson approached him in the
   parking lot before the shooting and asked him if the men practicing
   were Republicans or Democrats.

   Some of Hodgkinson's social media posts bitterly lashed out at
   President Trump. Hodgkinson also was a volunteer with Senator Bernie
   Sanders' Democratic presidential campaign.

   Sanders said he is "sickened" by the shooting and that "violence of any
   kind is unacceptable."

   There were about 20 congressmen on the field at the time of the attack.
   They hit the ground or ducked behind trees and shelters when Hodgkinson
   opened fire, apparently without warning. As many as 20 shots were
   fired.

   There was extra security at the practice because of Scalise's high
   position in the Republican Party. He is accompanied by Capitol Police
   at all times

   Afterward, the lawmakers praised Capitol Police and Alexandria Police,
   saying that without their actions the outcome could have been far
   worse.

   Republican Congressman Mo Brooks told CNN the security detail
   "exhibited great, great courage."

   Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup, who was a combat surgeon in Iraq,
   treated some of the wounded before they were taken to the hospital.

   Senator Jeff Flake told VOA an officer who had been shot "ran around
   quite a while with a wound" while firing at the gunman.

   The managers of the Democratic and Republican charity baseball teams
   said Thursday's game will go on as scheduled. Pennsylvania Democrat
   Mike Doyle said when U.S. leadership is civil, maybe the American
   people and the media will be, too.

   Republican Joe Barton of Texas, whose 10-year-old son witnessed the
   shooting, lamented a political climate in which he said lawmakers "are
   not looked at as people anymore." He cited shouting and insults thrown
   at lawmakers during town hall meetings with citizens.

   Both said it should not take an incident like Wednesday's shooting to
   bring political adversaries together.