Speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said that all lawmakers feel assaulted following the shooting earlier today in Alexandria where a man targeted GOP members who were practicing for the Congressional baseball game, set for tomorrow at Nationals Park.
“An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” Ryan said.
The lone gunman opened fire on lawmakers on the baseball field, wounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and others.
“Two members of Mr. Scalise’s protective police detail were wounded as they exchanged gunfire with the gunman in what other lawmakers described as a chaotic, terror-filled 10 minutes that turned the baseball practice into an early-morning nightmare,” the New York Times reported. “The police said two of the five people were critically wounded.”
President Trump said in a statement that the shooting suspect, James T. Hodgkinson, 66 of Belleville, Ill., had died.
Ryan said that lawmakers are “united” in their shock but also their resolve.
He also praised the Capitol Police, which engaged in a gun battle with the shooter.
“We are, as ever, awed by the tremendous bravery of the capitol police,” Ryan said.
“It is clear to me, based on various eyewitness accounts, that without these two heroes, agent [David] Bailey and agent [Krystal] Griner, many lives would have been lost,” Ryan said.
“Mr. Hodgkinson appeared to be have been fervent fan of Senator Bernie Sanders, according to a Facebook page with references to the Vermont senator,” the Times reported. “A LinkedIn page for James Hodgkinson had a profile photo showing Mr. Sanders’s famous hair and glasses and the words, ‘The Dawn of a New Democracy.’”
Senator Sanders in a personal statement condemned the attack.
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