June 23 (UPI) — The Republican lawmaker who was shot last week in an apparent politically motivated attack on a charity baseball practice has been upgraded to fair condition, hospital officials said Friday.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was transferred out of the intensive care unit Thursday at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the medical facility said in a statement Friday.
Scalise, the House majority whip, was shot in the hip area on June 14 as he practiced with other members of the GOP baseball team at a park in suburban Washington, D.C., to prepare for a traditional annual charity game between Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
“Scalise’s continued good progress allowed him to be transferred out of the Intensive Care Unit,” the hospital said in a Friday update. “He remains in fair condition as he continues an extended period of healing and rehabilitation.”
Three other people were shot in the attack, including a congressional staffer and a police officer who was on protective detail for the lawmakers. Two others received non-gunfire-related injuries at the Alexandria, Va., park.
Congressional staffer Zach Barth, food industry lobbyist Matt Mika and D.C. Metro Police officer Crystal Griner were the others shot. Mika has also been removed from the ICU, officials said.
The accused gunman, James T. Hodgkinson, was shot dead by police in the attack.
The FBI has said the shooting is not terror-related, and investigators suspect that the Illinois resident was moved to violence by politics. The suspect was a volunteer for former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders last year.
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