By
Peter Hermann, Paul Kane and Amber Phillips June 14 at 9:04 AM
A gunman opened fire Wednesday morning on a baseball practice at a park in Alexandria involving Republican members of Congress, injuring several people including at least one lawmaker, Steve Scalise, the majority whip, according to police and a congressman.
Alexandria police would only confirm that a shooting at Eugene Simpson Stadium Parkhad occurred and that one person was in custody.
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), in an interview with The Washington Post, confirmed early details. King said Capitol Police confirmed the account to him.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) told The Post that Capitol Police officers walked into the congressional gym around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and told members about the shooting and said Scalise had been shot.
Scalise, from Louisiana, is the third-highest ranking House Republican and has a round-the-clock Capitol Police detail.
President Trump issued this statement: “The vice president and I are aware of the shooting incident in Virginia and are monitoring developments closely. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the members of Congress, their staffs, Capitol Police, first responders, and all others affected.”
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) tweeted that a “shooter attacked a GOP baseball practice. Rifle. 50+ shots fired. 5 hit including Steve Scalise. I am not shot.” He estimated 50 to 100 shots were fired.
Scalise, who has been in Congress since 2008, represents a district that includes some New Orleans suburbs and bayou parishes. Before entering Congress, he was a lawmaker in Louisiana for eight years. Scalise and his wife, Jennifer, have two children and live in Jefferson, La.
The 7:30 a.m. gathering in the park in the 400 block of East Monroe Street was the final practice before Thursday night’s scheduled game between Republicans and Democrats at Nationals Park. The park is near the Potomac Yard shopping center on Route 1 and Old Town Alexandria. It has two well-groomed baseball fields, one big and one smaller, for little leaguers. It is adjacent to a YMCA and across the street from a CVS and an Aldi grocery store.
Katie Fillus of Alexandria had just gotten out of her car to walk her dogs in the park nearby when she said she heard “very, very loud popping sounds.”
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Alleged shooter is reportedly white so not being called terrorism yet.
