- A gunman opened fire at a Congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia
- Gunman identified as James Hodgkinson, succumbed to injuries
- GOP Whip Steve Scalise critical after being shot
- 5 people reportedly injured during the attack
- FBI to lead investigation
U.S. Lawmaker Scalise in Critical Condition
Congressman Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, was in critical condition on Wednesday night after he and three others were shot as they practiced for a charity baseball game.
Scalise was shot in the left hip, suffering broken bones, injuries to internal organs and severe bleeding.
He underwent surgery but would need further operations, the MedStar Washington Hospital Center said.
Shooter Vented Against Trump on Social Media
The suspect, James T Hodgkinson, had raged against United States President Donald Trump on social media, before the shootout.
Hodgkinson was a member of many anti-Republican groups on Facebook including “The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans,” “Terminate The Republican Party,” and “Donald Trump is not my President,” a search of what appeared to be his profile showed.
He is believed by investigators to have been a person "of strong views," the US official said, without elaborating.
Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.Hodgkinson wrote in a 22 March post on Facebook
His timeline was headed by a cover photo of Bernie Sanders.
The Belleville News-Democrat, a local newspaper, posted a photograph of Hodgkinson protesting outside a post office there in 2012, wearing sunglasses and a goatee and holding a homemade placard that read "TAX the Rich."
Gunman's Neighbour Had Seen Him Shooting in March
William Schaumleffel, one of Hodgkinson's neighbors, recalled how in March he heard gunshots and saw Hodgkinson shooting with a long gun toward woods across a corn field from his yard.
I yelled at him, ‘Hey stop shooting over there. There are houses over there’.William Schaumleffel, Hodgkinson’s neighbors
Hodgkinson did not stop, Schaumleffel said, so he filed a report with the sheriff's office.
Hodgkinson's brother, Michael, told The New York Times that, while he was not close to his sibling, he knew he was distraught over Trump's electoral win and went to Washington to protest. "I know he wasn't happy with the way things were going, the election results and stuff," Michael Hodgkinson said.
More About the Shooter, Hodgkinson
Hodgkinson's criminal history included a 2006 arrest on battery charges that were later dismissed, as well as multiple traffic violations, according to state records. Most of the infractions were ultimately dropped.
Hodgkinson had been licensed as a home inspector and a real estate appraiser, but did not renew his home inspector license after it expired last year, state records showed. His license to appraise real estate expired in 1997.
According to his Facebook profile, Hodgkinson went to Belleville Township High School West and studied flight training at Southwestern Illinois College.