Multiple People Shot, Including House Majority Whip, At Congressional Baseball Practice; Shooter Dead

This article comes from ZeroHedge.com

At least five people have been shot, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise – the third ranking Republican – and aides, during a baseball practice in Virginia Wednesday, Fox News confirmed. The shots were reported on East Monroe Street in Del Ray, Alexandria police said on Twitter at 7:30 a.m. The location was near a YMCA.

Michigan Rep. Mike Bishop tells WWJ Newsradio 950 he was attending the practice around 5:30 a.m., just outside of Alexandria, when shots rang out. He said he and his colleagues were “sitting ducks.”

“As we were standing here this morning, a gunman walked up to the fence line and just began to shoot. I was standing at home plate and he was in the third base line,” Bishop said. “He had a rifle that was clearly meant for the job of taking people out, multiple casualties, and he had several rounds and magazines that he kept unloading and reloading.”

More than 50 shots were fired, according to CBS News, with some accounts putting the number closer to 100. Four people were injured, including two Capitol Hill police officers and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. The suspect was also shot.

“The only reason why any of us walked out of this thing, by the grace of God, one of the folks here had a weapon to fire back and give us a moment to find cover. We were inside the backstop and if we didn’t have that cover by a brave person who stood up and took a shot themselves, we would not have gotten out of there and every one of us would have been hit — every single one of us,” said Bishop. “He was coming around the fence line and he was looking for all of us who had found cover in different spots. But if we didn’t have return fire right there, he would have come up to each one of us and shot us point-blank.”

Update 8:

President Trump has just confirmed that Hodgkinson has died from wounds incurred during his shootout with the Capitol Police this morning.

Update 7:

The shooter has been identified at 66 year old James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Ill.

Update 6:

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and law enforcement officials held a press briefing which began around 10:30AM EST.  Among other things, officers confirmed that the 2 U.S. Capitol Police Officers who were shot this morning were in “good condition.”

Virginia police said the FBI will be taking over the investigation.

Not surprisingly, VA governor McAuliffe used this tragedy to push gun control.

Update 5:

The House has gone into recess and confirmed that no votes are scheduled for today in light of this morning’s shooting.  The House Sgt. as Arms will brief members of Congress later this morning.

Read more here.