>> at this point we are going to gather investigators together and look at what we have and put the scene together. again, is very early on and there's a lot of witnesses. once we have more information, we will certainly pass on whatever information we can and whatever information we need. >> we are not going to answer

any questions at this point because it is an active, ongoing investigation. we are collecting information and evidence. in an hour and a half will come back and give you an update and answer some questions. it's a stable situation at this point. it's still under investigation. >> so from outside our nation's capital, we awake to this news. police were about the news conference. this is a fox news alert. we will be on the story for a considerable time today. we will give you an update in about 90 minutes now. here's what we know, there've been multiple shootings.

three others apparently shot as well on a baseball field outside our nation's c. we are told he took a bullet to the hip. early reports are that he will survive. the president commented just a moment ago from the white house. we are reporting from "america's newsroom" about significant developments from washington, d.c. the shooting happened at earlier this morning. he opened fired with a rifle. the gunmen we are told the shot and currently in police custody.

>> what rand paul, described were 5260 gunshots. he chalked it up to it is more common in that part of the worl world. from right field perspective, it was a much different matter. chad who was on scene earlier this morning, chad, this started at at seven: 15 earlier today. >> there a couple of drugstores here and coffee shops, and i'm kind of standing behind home plate here. i've been told that steve

scalise has been taken to the hospital, and will undergo surgery for his hip wound. i asked if they need to extract any shrapnel but it is unclear. i am told that there is also a female who is on this protective detail. since scalise is on leadership, he gets protection 24/7. but scalise was playing second base, and scalise was laying on the field heard

screaming. people were just fleeing and trying to get out of the way. it was quite the scene and information is still fragmentary as it often is in these situations. in this game, democrats and republicans playing. they take this quite seriously in the stomach stomach. this was a minor league ballpark back in the 1970s for the seattle mariners come up before they moved it to rfk stadium. >> bill: chad a lot of attention is going to turn to visit gunmen and we don't have a lot of information. but we will turn to eight

description. the gunmen apparently was taking cover behind one of the dugouts. also he was described as being maybe 40 or 50 years old. he had dark hair, white skin, and maybe wearing a blue shirt. outside of that we have no more information. do you? >> the only information i have was that individual was wounded and returned fire. the assailant was dead, but that was not the case. he was taken to the hospital in virginia here. it appeared that is injuries were quite serious. i was told that the democrats practice at one location and republican practice at another.

the assailant walked up and asked if they were republicans practicing here. the question is the motive. a year today, the eve of the congressional baseball game, last year when democrats took over the house chamber to protest firearm laws, one of the reasons that democrats and republicans joke about the game is that the democrats were tired because they were up all night with her sitting on firearms. just about a half-mile from my house, i get coffee from the coffee shop across the field, the dugouts were conventional dugouts. police helicopter is right over top of me right now. this is a pretty residential area. the house when standing right

now, and two little girls came out and said i'm scared. this is a pretty low-key place and this is quite extraordinary. >> bill: we have another eyewitness, but don't go far. the witness said the shooter left the field, and the man approached them in the parking lot and was asked if he was democrat or republican. the exchange was unusual and nothing beyond that until the news broke out now. that's some of that eyewitness accounts we are getting. the police say it's an active situation. there were several people on that field.

speak >> shannon: another other notable things, you will are on the army reserve, and iraq physician, what can you tell us and how you felt in the moment trying to render some help? >> we just went into the batting cages when we heard the first shot. and in many shots followed after that. and then people hit the ground trying to stay out of the line of fire. the gunman was beyond the third base dugout, but you can see him. and steve scalise was down and just laid still. other people were wounded in the process. some were law enforcement for staffers helping us with

practice. we all hunkered down but the shooter was mobile and he went from beyond the end of the third base dugout to the outfield, to the other side in the infield and kept firing. the security details were there. then he went behind another building still firing a rifle. then he came back around the other side of the building with a pistol. and that's where they were able to take him down. at that point when it looked like he was down, people started rendering pressure on the wound, making sure he was conscious and aware. they gave him fluids. >> shannon: members of congress don't always travel around with security details.

he did have security details there. he described moments after they took down the shooter. you sound like it was a secondary gun from the initial gun. what differences of that detail was that between being hunkered down and mobile? >> the only person with a security detail there, god only knows how bad it could've been. >> shannon: as soon as they knew what was going on, it was about 3 minutes, but it seemed like forever. >> we heard sirens eventually. if you are just passing by or out walking your dog, they don't necessarily have their phones with them.

where i was, i didn't have my phone to call 911. it makes sense that it was difficult for anyone to contact them immediately. >> shannon: we heard other witnesses described that the congressman tried to drag himself and at some point he became motionless. and there was a trail of blood from his wound. another person used a belt as a tourniquet. it seem like something you would see in iraq on the battlefield. >> it was very similar. we found the entry wound and were able to put some material on and we used a belt as a tourniquet first.

>> shannon: i would imagine the big difference the first time around, was that you were not armed. >> no, i was not. i wanted to get to steve a whole lot sooner, but you just can't do it when somebody open fires like that. >> shannon: can you give us the take, we are hearing reports that another member was shot. is that an inaccurate report? >> roger was not shot. roger injured his leg when he dove into the dugout. it was all concrete. he was walking and he will be fine. >> shannon: there were members of security detail that were hit as well.

how are they doing as they left? >> there is one staff member that i cannot tell you anything about but he was pretty seriously wounded. in the first one to be taken ou out. congressman, physician, and i rock war veteran, we are glad you are safe there and were able to help a mid tragedy. >> bill: we are reaching out to rand paul, and he described himself from going to home plate out to right field when the shooting began. we will get his account when the back in a moment there. literally asked rand paul for a ride back in town.

he said give me a moment, we are going to hit a few more balls. jeff spoke to reporters and here is account. >> he had a rifle of some kind. and a large gauge rifle. there are people in the field, one staffer was shot in the field, and he ran with a wound into the dugout. a lot of us dove into the dugou dugout. at that point, there were firing behind us. i started yelling back, are you friendly? because we didn't know if there were other shooters when we came into the dugout. so we didn't know whether to run or not. so we stayed, try to keep down and i put my head up at

one point he saw the shooter from behind the fence. he still had a line of fire into the dugout. he was firing around but he could have fired into the dugou dugout. we got a child into the dugout and stuffed him under the bench. >> did this appear to be a coordinated attack? >> there was one shooter it appeared, so you have to assuming knew what he was doing. >> how long was he down? >> at least 10 minutes. >> steve scalise is a member, and two of his security detail

was shot. one was shot in the leg, and i believe he was the one that brought the shooter down. after i got out, i was first out to steve, and then bred a member from ohio, came out and applied pressure on the wound. he was coherent the whole time, but he laid out there for at least 10 minutes on the field. we couldn't get to them while there were shots. >> bill: the center giving description to reporters. the facts may change, but we just want to get back to what was reported. two things, he saw the gunman pulled out a pistol after

reports of a rifle. so it's a possibility that there were two weapons brought to the field. also roger williams, a republican from illinois, was not shot and he got into the dugout to take cover, and it was made of concrete which accounts for his injury. >> shannon: not shot, but a member of staff was shot. an aide was shot of his. >> bill: on the scene, garrett garrett. where are you and what do you have for us right now? >> you heard senator rand paul say earlier, if it wasn't for early action, it could have been a massacre. we see two gates that were open

on the field. by the first base dugout. across the entire field, it was fenced in. so when you hear about reports of the gunman, it was a chaotic scene going on for nearly 10 minutes. they're trying to figure out where the shooter was initially in it, and where they were goin going. you can see this is wide open field. there was nowhere for them to run. there were 50-60 gun shots. they were going all over the place. about half an hour ago i was near the coffee shop, and there is a dog park there, and a street and a copy shop. this in cars parked along the street. a couple windows were shot out. please tape is all around there. please are being very careful at people are not walking around there, looking for evidence

about what happened this mornin morning. across the field, practice gear are still left out, for the game that was scheduled for tomorrow. it's a very residential area here, there's a ymca, a foo market, a copy shop, tennis courts and lines of homes here. people originally thought it was a construction mishap because there is construction. there were lots of things going on, and as it continued to unfold, they realized it was not construction. >> bill: thank you. there were reports that officers responded within 3 minutes of shots being fired on that field. to his officers returned fire.

we also know capital police were on the scene. they are still sorting through all that information. there is a reported 50-60 shots fired. this will all be sorted out once the police continue their investigation. there is a expected update in about an hour from now. >> shannon: just moments after the shooting, you can see he is on the stretcher. this is a wound to his hip. he is being treated now. there are some reports that he is going into surgery, and you can see there are pictures of him being lifted into the medical vehicle. the prognosis for him is good. that video just uploaded to us a

moment ago. >> bill: the president responding by way of twitter. here's one response. he says that a true friend and patriot got injured. here's the tweet from the president. also reaction from the vice president. the event today has been canceled. the vice president and i are aware of the shooting. we are deeply saddened by the tragedy. we had planned to have some senators on our program, and if that interview stands given the events of the morning, we will get reaction in real-time.

alabama congressman also was at that game today. what a morning this is. what was your experience? >> i was about 20 yards from the shooter. i heard a gunshot, and i said, that is a gunshot in the initial shot came our way. he fired two more times. >> where was the gunman? was he behind the dugout taking cover? >> i couldn't tell where he was. i think he was right at the fence.

once we heard shooter, we all took cover. some of the members went into the dugout, including one of the staffers that comes out and helps us. i think we just got word that he is going to be okay. >> bill: where were you at that time? >> i was at shortstop. >> bill: so you hear the gunfire at your right side. >> i heard someone say gunshot,

and we all took off toward first base, and then there were more shots. i knew it was gunshots as soon as i heard it. >> bill: 's report of the gunman also has a pistol, was that the case? >> brad, who served as a army medic, attended scalise. >> bill: how long did this last? >> i would say 10 minutes or longer. if it wasn't for the security

detail, it would've been horrible. they engaged the guy, got close to him. they continued to return fire. i am very grateful for their courage. >> bill: rand paul said that without the police responding, it would've been a massacre. >> it would have been. >> bill: do you remember the first time when you heard shots and the police respondent? >> towards the end, there are so many shots being fired, i cannot tell if capital police got assistance at that point.

we had taken cover behind first base line, and the shooter moved around, and security ordered us to take refuge about 40 yards away, and we all moved to that position and that's where we were they were able to take the shooter down. >> bill: are you okay? >> i'm fine. >> bill: how many people were shot in total? >> a congressman may have suffered a broken ankle. i think five, but i'm not sure.

>> bill: where are you right now? >> i'm getting back to the capital. >> bill: are you able to absorb or understand what happened? >> it's a different world and it's really sad that things have to come to this point. we have to figure out a way to heal the country. it's been reported that he asked one of our members if we were republicans or democrats. one of our guys was leaving practice and i cannot confirm that. we need to figure out a way to bring this country together. >> bill: indeed. i'm glad to hear you are okay

and regards to the people there. we just got word that, senator huckabee will not be here as our guest today, but given the events, that is not surprising. >> shannon: witnesses say that scalise is in the hospital but will be okay. we want to bring you to senator rand paul who was there. >> representative scalise was

there, and there were five or six people hunkering down. >> bill: where was the security detail? >> they are usually located around the field. so at this point, there were 50 50-60 shots, and the shooter was advancing towards us and we were moving behind different buildings. the staffer that made it over the fence, we just were trying to decide whether to stay or go. capital police were returning fire. without the police, it would have been a massacre. >> shannon: senator what can you tell us at this point?

>> i found out about this shortly after 7:30 from a member of my staff. she didn't know any details, i got through to a senator in her that steve scalise had been shot and several others had been sho shot. this is a very scary thing. >> shannon: this is one of the truly bipartisan big events, a game scheduled for tomorrow night. it raises a lot of money. do you think it should go for tomorrow night as planned smart >> i think it should. it raises a lot of money every year for charity.

i think this would be a good opportunity and i suspect it will go forward. >> shannon: how do you feel as a member of congress? rand paul said that, what is the day-to-day reality for you? >> in a free society, things like this can happen. it's very scary. in this circumstance, there were people on-site that were were able to take on the shooter. obviously, this was very frightening. i hope it won't have to change a lot of how we operate. that we do feel free, and safe.

>> shannon: in washington, there are protocols that drive people a little crazy. the white house as changed dramatically in terms of access. a lot of safety measures have been put into place. you talk about not wanting to see that rant up even further, do you see that happening? >> i don't know. some of that has to do with what we find out about this situatio situation. i hope that doesn't change, these are symbols of free society and part of being in a free society. in that not having to feel all the time of being under threat. >> shannon: the gunman has been wounded but is alive according to reports. we will learn a whole lot more from police and investigators.

hopefully being able to question and look into motives. where do we go from here? >> we don't know and i would caution people against speculating on motives because we don't know anything about this person. i look forward to getting to the bottom of what happened and why it happened. >> shannon: do you worry about the political conversation in this country? >> of course, i worry about tha that. we know so little about who this person was or what his motivations were. but i'm always concerned about the tone of political conversation regardless of what the person's motives have been.

we should speak about these things every day whenever we have a chance to have a conversation. >> shannon: this is an active investigation, and many witnesses to comb through. thank you for joining us. >> bill: chanted, the first on the air with this information today. steve scalise is one of the wounded. as well as a female officer. one staffer whose identity has not been revealed yet. former d.c. homicide detective with us now. i know you know the area, and

how unusual this is in this part of washington. i just want to share this picture with viewers at home. this is a picture of a nearby baseball field, of people bowing their heads in prayer shortly after this morning. >> i can tell you that this area is a heavily controlled area. when the police chief indicated earlier when it took 2-3 minutes for police to respond, i'm not surprised. it is heavily traveled. the reason is they are always detailed to be with the leadership team of the senate and house of representatives.

the thing that really stood out to me about this case already is the fact that we have police officers that were shot, and even though they were shot, she was able to return fire and disable this gunman. so i think these officers are heroes. >> bill: amen to that. they only assigned to members of congress? >> there is a large contingent of officers in plain clothes, but for the most part, there are detailed officers with each part of the leadership team. they typically are the only ones that get that type of service, although any member of congress can request security assistance.

these are specially trained individuals and sometimes people think they are secret service agents and they are not, although they do cross train with secret service. >> bill: it was speculated that this man came with a lot of ammunition. there can only be one explanation for this, this gun was out to kill as many people this morning. >> yeah, that is a good observation. here is what the investigators are doing as i speak. they are trying to get more information about the gunman, where did he get the weapon? some reports say that it was an

ar-15 and that is possible. where were the warning signs, and these other questions investigators are trying to figure out. you can expect throughout the day today, they are are going to be search warrants issued at this person's home, where he came from and so on. >> bill: excellent point you make there. there is so much at this moment we do not know about the gunman. what was his motivation, where is he from, does he live in the area, was it his intent to drive to washington, d.c., for an event like this? >> they are trying to figure out these things fast. we have to make sure the elected representatives are safe and secure. in an effort to do that, we have

to try your best and hardest. i applaud our law enforcement because they try day in and day out to protect these people. >> bill: just listening to the feelings being described, his family members and friends watching back home, you think about how security is changed on capitol hill, clearly over the last 15 or 20 years, the security on capitol hill has gotten more intense. often times events like these change our patterns, behavior, level of security, and you wonder what impact this will have on the security of members of congress on a day-to-day basis. we are two hours and 25 minutes into this, and that is questions

i will be digested in days and months. we have to answer it and figure it out. because with a situation like this, it could have been a massacre. >> this could have been a massacre. look at the weapon this guy had in the amount of ammunition. again, because of the courageous capitol hill police officers, they could stop this gunman before more bloodshed could occur. not just at events like this, but at airports, schools. definitely as a nation, we have to come together and look at all of these situations and do a better job of keeping these people safe. >> bill: thank you very much, rod wheeler.

we have indications that scalise is in the hospital but is alive. >> shannon: we heard from this morning that he is been shot in the hip, and a hospital, and is in stable condition. he is grateful from the brave actions from capital police. we ask that you keep the people involved in this in your thoughts and prayers. in the meantime, we want to bring in senator , we booked to you to talk about other things, but now you are here, let's talk about the headline of the day. it sounds like folks on the scene did the right thing at the right time. what do you make about his

condition? >> as an orthopedic surgeon, thank you to the capital police. this could have turned into a bloodbath. thanks to the capital police. people who are elected to the community, it's good to hear that scalise is doing well. we have great concerns about things like this happening. these are elected officials, elected to make this country better, safer, stronger. whichever party you are from, people are here to try to make america better. when something like this happens, great concern. it's a bipartisan gathering just like this baseball game. we have to continue to be able to do these sorts of things to

make america stronger. >> shannon: we have a picture that was tweeted not long ago. it shows democrats huddling together in prayer, as well. we may have different ways of going about things, but you want to make this country better. >> its love thy neighbor as thyself. there's a lot of partisan ship around the country right now. we want to make america better, and something like this will unite us, but is not going to stop us from going home, visiting with people and traveling around. there's a security with the highest levels of leadership. i'll be home in my state traveling and visiting with

people one on one. >> shannon: how much of that enters your mind? >> certainly in wyoming, it doesn't answer my mind at all. it is always concern, and is incredible capitol hill protection. people have to go through metal detectors so that exists. it sounds like what happened today that this could have been very, very bad for many, many people. hats off to capital police that were there. we are going to learn more about who this shooter was, and there is a report that the shooter asked which party they represented on the field. we don't need that anywhere in this country, that is just horrible. >> shannon: we have reports

that the shooter did approach somebody and asked if they were democrat or republican. in the meantime, what is the mood like there on capitol hill this morning? >> it's a somber mood. we realize that it could have been any of us. i hope the baseball game does go on, because it does raise lots of money for charity. that's why this needs to go on and have a large turnout so that those efforts can continue as properly funded. i realize that people today on the hill are overly cautious. and security was right there outside the door to be additionally protective. security is heightened on

capitol hill. thanks for having me. >> bill: officials close to the white house has told us that there's been a series of phone calls to contact those involved in the shooting in alexandria, virginia. we are not sure when the president will make a statement but we expect that to happen fairly soon. we believe police will brief us again around 10:30. capitol hill police, traveling with scalise a high-ranking republican was shot in the hip. around seven: 15 am. this is what we know about scalise.

he is now undergoing surgery, in stable condition at a nearby hospital. injuries not life threatening. the condition of the gunman is not known at this time. the president said that he is deeply saddened by this tragedy and monitoring the situation. we can expect more reaction coming from there. the shooting occurred at a popular park, residential area baseball complex. it's a very common you would find a place like this in every town, every city across america. lawmakers gathered for morning baseball practice, trying to hone their skills, republicans and democrats for a charity baseball game to be played tomorrow night. a long-running tradition in our nation's capital capital. the team is taking batting practice in the first shot rang out.

after that it was a scene of chaos. congressman bill johnson, he was at the practice field. it is good to see you. i understand you left shortly before the shots rang out. what's your story? >> i had a meeting back on the hill, and i probably left 5 minutes before everything happened. so you probably heard from others that were there that can give you more of a bird's-eye view, this is absolutely tragic. >> bill: did you notice anything unusual or suspicious? >> the only thing that i noticed, and i did reach out to capitol hill police, was that i was leaving the complex and pulled out onto the street that parallels the parking lot of the

baseball complex. there was a white male who was very lethargic we might, slowly getting out of his van on the street. the only reason i noted it was because i had to slow down and wait for him to kind of meander out onto the middle of the street back towards his van. i would never have thought anything of it had i not had that experience. >> bill: what do you recognize or remember about this individual? >> probably a white male may be 5-foot or 5'11". it looked like he was preparing to start his workday. he had a pouch like a burlap bag

in his hand. at least that's what it looked like. i only saw him for a few second seconds. >> bill: do you remember what he was wearing? >> he was wearing some kind of white, predominantly white clos close. it may have been a white cover all that pain is where or something like that. >> bill: we have another eyewitness on the line coming up next. give us a sense among your colleagues as far as how you absorbed this experience and what this does to the service in our nation's capital? >> it emboldens me and tells me

that we are doing what we are doing for the right reason. this tragic incident could have happened anywhere. and i think that steve scalise who i respect tremendously, we don't cower in the corner from these types of incidences. we come out and we make the nation better for it. these kind of incidences could happen anywhere around america. this baseball complex is like any other place along america's byways and highways. it could happen anywhere. we can't let the bad guys win. we have to pick ourselves up and move forward. >> bill: thank you for your time. >> shannon: we want to go back to our senior producer, who lives in this neighborhood. in the first among those to be

reporting on it this morning. i understand you have a little bit of an update for us. i didn't have a friend of the aid of roger williams, reaching out saying that he is expected to be doing okay at this point. >> we understand right now there are five people injured. congressman scalise who is currently undergoing surgery at a local hospital. he is listed at stable condition at this point. he was playing second base on this one down. we have an aide that was shot. we have one u.s. capital police officer who is on detail of congressman scalise, that's a female officer that was shot in the foot. we have an another member of

police detail, and then the fifth person who was the gunmen shot by capital police. i should note that this is the second incident in a little more than six and a half years where we have had a member of the u.s. house shot. gabby gifford was shot at a town hall meeting in arizona. she resigned from congress later that year. she is now a gun violence advocate, there is some thought by democrats and republicans that there might be an effort after her shooting to clampdown security and maybe move on gun control issues. i should know that a year ago today we had a long sit in by house democrats in the house

chamber, and it was argued that part of the reason they lost the game was that democrats were up all night occupying the house chamber with a sit in after the gun shooting there. this is pretty remarkable that we have had two members of congress shot in the past six and a half years. >> shannon: that area, cafes, art galleries, this is not the kind of area where a random crime just happens. at this point, it appears to be very targeted. >> right, there is soccer fields and baseball fields. you can imagine if you're out here playing baseball, is a wide-open field. if somebody comes and shoots off

lots of rounds of bullets, people are going to get hurt. this used to be the field where they played the congressional baseball game some years ago before moving to rfk stadium where the nationals first playe played. that's where they play this congressional baseball game now peered over my other shoulder, there's a coffee shop where i just went for coffee a few days ago. i'm sitting right across the street in a in and there are vs with windows that are shot out. the u.s. capital police who were on the detail for steve, started returning fire. some people were yelling, is this friendly fire?

that's what happens when you get into these mass shooting situations, there is confusion. police are still trying to piece this together, and find out a motive. it is reported that the gunmen walked up to people and asked if they were democrats or republicans. >> shannon: we will see if that is indeed the gunmen, the person that asked those questions. we remain to know how far and wide this reaches. these are people who every day, like all of our law enforcement officers are risking everything to protect other people. >> we are seeing this from the capital police and other people.

they determined that to capital police officers, and a gunmen barged into the u.s. capital and then was turning toward the offices of the then member tom delay, and a member of his police detail shot the gunmen and basically ended that. there is a plaque right by that office occupied by kevin mccarthy who is the majority leader in the house of representatives. >> bill: capital please on the hill have a robust presence.

question about the baseball practice. is this widely distributed? would a lot of people be aware of the schedule? on a seemingly random morning in mid-june? >> not necessarily. they have these practices in the morning before the legislative day begins. i have been to this practice before a couple years ago. getting up at 5:30 in the morning. they argued about the infield fly rule and such. this is a neighborhood, is not everyday that that people come up and start playing baseball at this hour in the morning. they were clearly doing so.

and maybe somebody who lives in the neighborhood or has just been observant knows that this is going on. members of congress and aids getting injured is very significant. great >> bill: we are expectinga news conference 30 minutes were not. capitol hill please just a few hours ago, four people were shot while republican lawmakers practice for an annual baseball game. we are told that there are five victims total including the gunmen. one congressional aide, to capital police officers, and a staffer. >> shannon: the shooter was shot by police, and we

understand he was taken into custody. at this moment, no other motive motives. speed >> bill: a statement frome governor's office, this morning at eight practice for the congressional baseball game, scalise was shot in the hip where is currently undergoing surgery. he is in stable condition. prior to entering surgery, he was in good spirits. he was grateful for the actions of police. we ask that you keep the people involved in this incident inner

thoughts and prayers. >> shannon: let's bring in senator tim scott. incorporated you for your time. what is the mood? >> it's a mood of caution, lots of sadness and a lot of prayers. one thing about crisis is that it brings people together. we seem to operate best when we are under crisis. law enforcement, specifically capital please, thank you for your quick response. without your response, people would have lost their lives this morning likely. thank you for being present and doing your job at the highest level possible. >> shannon: emission they carry on every day is a big one. let's talk about this event. this is something that people look forward to on capitol hill, a bipartisan event. there are pictures of your democratic counterparts praying

at the practice. >> at 5:30 in the morning, you go to practice because the goal is to raise money for local and national charities. the coaches son who is ten years old, was out there as well. you have the environment where the goal is to raise money and be good. the democrats practice at one location and republicans practice at another. what a sad moment for the nation. what a sad morning for the folks who believe that our country is better together. we have to address these issues directly. >> shannon: you mentioned taking part in these practices. it did you ever think that this could ever happen at an event like that?

>> you do, when you have that many members together. we have law enforcement to be very thankful for. you just go about trying to hit balls and throw strikes and try not to embarrass yourself on game night, and raise a lot of money for charities. >> shannon: you talk about the divisiveness going on in our country right now. how do you make things better? >> i think we need to stop seeing ourselves as black or white, or democrat or republica republican. what are the true american principles that govern success? we have been able to understand those core principles and we should fight for those principles, not against somebody else but for the principles and

have a deliberate process to discuss those issues. we have to find a way to get ourselves out of this hole and put aside sensationalism that seems to be dividing our nation and unfortunately leads to challenging circumstances as we see today. >> shannon: do you think business will be as usual? >> there's a higher level of security around the capital. this is without a question that it will linger for the rest of the week and beyond. we have a responsibility to focus on the average person in this nation and make sure we bring opportunities as opposed to division. we want to be in the business of helping people.

>> shannon: we know the threats you face all of the tim time. do you think this will attract people to go into that business to help other people are smart >> yes, the questions remain that there are a number of narratives. for the most part i would like to say that on a consistent basis, we don't have to worry about those threats because we have been blessed to live in a nation that is able to be tolerant and have a sense of self discipline. that seems to be evaporating a little bit. so we have to be responding to the situation of coming togethe together. one of the ways we get there is

by our faith. we are a nation founded on judeo-christian principles. every find ourselves, loving our neighbors and falling back on those core principles, what we need to do is get rid of the sensationalism that is pulling our country apart. we need to have a real path to make sure the american dream is alive, healthy and achievable for the average person. >> shannon: your colleague spoke to us just moments ago. those are things we don't hear about a lot. is that fabric they're woven into the hill?

>> i think it is. the basic components of a nation can be seen wednesday mornings at 8:00 where we come together to have a conversation of believing in a higher purpose, having a mission. the impact that faith and values have on our lives. we have more democrats and republicans often times there. we come together and put aside our differences and come together. during the charleston massacre at the church, a democrat who is of a different faith, flew down to be with other members of our delegation to worship in a spirit of unity because she believes america is better

together. i cannot stress enough that when we find ourselves in a crisis, it is most important for us to put aside our petty differences, join hands together and protect the nation that represents hope in this world and protect it with our lives. that is something we should feel responsible for and be blessed to serve any nation that brings people together in the worst of times. we just need to be there when it is not the worst of times. >> shannon: that is a beautiful thing and something we can use more of. >> bill: so well-spoken. gabby giffords when she was shot in the head, i remember during that time how willing she was to find bipartisan support on both sides of the aisle. she engaged with others in a friendly way, and had optimism

that she carried with her every day. not afraid to stand up to anybody, and she always came with a smile and do her job with joy. she believed that she can make a difference in washington not just with democrats but with republicans. the president is reacting to this, reaching out to paul ryan and many of those who were involved. he is also possibly going to give a statement on this. we will get more reports from people. paul ryan just sent this tweet, this morning, the hearts of a

whole house are with those affected. for people shot and the gunmen were shot. and we barely have a description other than what the arizona center said. the gunmen, described as being 40-50 years old, white and i was pretty much it. garrett, what do you have? >> it was about three hours ago when congressional members were practicing for the baseball game. 50-60 gun shots is they heard. the we are told that the government was likely somewhere along the third-base line on the other side of the fence by this parking lot. when the shooting ring out, we were told it lasted anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes.

right beyond the first base dugout, there is a dog park. there were about 50 people there when the shots started to ring out. everyone hit the ground, stayed on the ground. they saw bullets hitting the ground, kicking debris up. one man told us that he laid there, and heard gunshots firing back and forth, and police yelling to the gunmen to put his gun down. there are people yelling, just shoot him. when the shots ended, he laid there until he was sure that it was over. people rushed out to the field where scalise was and people realized what had just taken place.

it's a very active investigatio investigation. there are windows that are shot out, and lots of forensic evidence that police are going through. when we talk to congressmen and other witnesses. >> bill: thank you. congressmen out of florida left 5 minutes before the shooting broke out. he heard the gunmen ask if they were democrats or republicans. reaction from the present. >> there's a noticeable effect on the shootings at the white house. there is a dramatic uptake and security. particularly pennsylvania avenu pennsylvania avenue. the u.s. seekers service closedown pennsylvania avenue.

there are security with automatic rifles. pennsylvania avenue has been reopened now, white house tours are now going on. the president to call the speaker of the house and other members of congress. the president took to twitter expressing his feelings. congressman scalise was injured and our thoughts and prayers are with them. thank you to the first responders to help protect those who got hurt. of my thoughts and prayers to everyone. steve scalise is a frequent visitor to the white house. he has an ambitious legislative agenda and takes a lot of votes. he wants to repeal and replace

obamacare. h the president quite well. he has a very good relationship. this is going to affect part of the present state at the very least. he had a big announcement on apprenticeships, and i was told that was canceled. we haven't got anything on that just yet, but given the history, it would be rather unusual if the president didn't say something. typically u.s. presidents wait until they have more facts. we are still in the early hours. >> bill: i'm also told that he's reaching out to those involved, and that includes steve scalise. >> he said that he is going to him.y recover so he has been the president is confident that information he has is that scalise is very much stable but

undergoing surgery. the hospital is very good, and he will make a full recovery. >> bill: you think about all of this coming in right now, and reactions, the security there has been object significantly. thank you. >> shannon: i believe there is a witness that has something. >> the man had a gun, and people were trying to get out of the way. >> describe what you saw this morning. >> i did not say it was an automatic weapon.

there was a very rapid fire of shots. what went through my mind is that we need to get people away from the windows. since then i had some time to reflect. it is sad that our political discourse has gotten to this point. >> bill: was he moving and firing in a methodical way, or was he wildly shooting. >> he was crouched behind cover and moving in a crossed way as one does in combat. he was certainly methodical. >> by the time he saw the shooting happening, he had already shot the congressman and one of the aides? to go i am extrapolating a

little bit, what i've heard is that he's started at the third base dugout, and he must've moved. some time had passed but i'm not sure how much? >> what have you heard, shots going back and forth? >> another bullet lodged inside two panes of glass on the front of the building. after some time, i didn't see him get subdued or get shot, but i did see him get handcuffed. emts rushed to where he was. >> so you saw emts rushed into the scene? >> i looked and saw a medevac

helicopter. >> describe the scene, how long until you first heard gunshots until it ended in the helicopter arrived? >> i would say that the gunshots i heard lasted 1-2 minutes. the helicopter was about 5 minutes after the gunshots started. from the ymca, that was maybe seconds after i arrived. >> based on what you can see, was a clear the gunmen was focused on the shooting on the baseball field? he wasn't just randomly shooting civilians? >> he wasn't shooting at random civilians, he was focused on shooting capital police

officers, exchanging fire with them. >> did you see capital police officers? >> yes. i saw two people, one people was shooting a handgun and the other was lying on the ground. i could see him or her. they were lying on the ground. >> were you standing the whole time in the ymca? >> i was getting myself and everyone else in the immediate area from the windows. i was not lying down on the ground as perhaps i should have been. i was crouched. >> was see an older man?

>> he was middle-aged. >> give us a sense of how you saw this man? what struck you most of all the suspect? >> the gun. i only saw him with one weapon, it was an ak-47 type weapon. it had a curve magazine, a distinctive silhouette. >> did you see the shooter being taken into custody? >> i did, i saw him exchanging fire with the officers appeared i later saw him being handcuffed, face down in the

payment with a knee in his back. i saw emts go to where he was. >> was he changing out magazine magazines, methodical shooting or just fire, fire, fire? >> i didn't see him change magazines but i saw him move around. he seemed to be crouched down and i couldn't go any further than that. >> how long do you think it went on for? >> bill: wow.

he saw a lot, he filled in some of the questions but there is a lot to be determined. >> shannon: we are keeping an eye on the situation. >> bill: will have more reports soon for now. speaking of congress, rodney davis was there, a republican from illinois. i understand you are at bat when the shooting took place. what do you remember? >> i was, i remember being at bat. i was hitting balls, when i heard a bang. and then i heard he has a gun, and we all run into the dugout. see one did you run into the first base dugout? what did you see? >> i never saw the dunk gunmen.

i went into the dugout as most of us did. our thoughts and prayers are with steve scalise and the staffers and those injured. it would've been a lot worse without steve's capital police. >> bill: were those officers in uniform? >> they were not, they are the true heroes. they engaged and made sure there were not many casualties. >> bill: what would've happened without the police detail? >> i don't want to think about what would happen.

there were many innocent people around the area. this political discourse has lot to gunfire. this has got to stop, and it has to stop today. >> bill: so you think the language to american politics contributed to this? >> i'm not going to assess who takes responsibility. we are all responsible for the discourse that has happened in american government. we have the right to elect our leaders and vote against them if we disagree. we have to ratchet down the rhetoric that we see. this is a result, i believe as political discourse. that has to stop. political rhetorical terrorism. this has led to the violent type

of activity. we had to stop this. >> bill: before this morning, did you feel this way? >> absolutely. as you can see, i haven't had a chance to really talk to anybody except those that we are now going to be bound together by the senseless shooting for the rest of our lives. i haven't had a chance to really talk, or discuss this. this has to be the message by republicans like me and democrats alike. we have to have a unity in this country. we are the united states of america, we are great, and that is what i hope to happen by the response of the violence of the activity we have seen today. >> shannon: things have gotten

so heated, and as political divide, and we have talked to members that there are things that unite members. will this strengthen and grow through this, and a silver lining that is happened from the bad? >> you wouldn't believe some of the news reports, but some of my best friends are's from the other end of the aisle. it's the major issues that lead to political discourse that in my opinion, has led to such an uptick of hateful rhetoric of all sides and i stand here today saying, stop. we had to stop. >> shannon: how can your fellow members make that change? >> the reason i'm here today,

walked here getting back to my office was to talk to you. to send that exact message. we have to come together as americans, not as republicans or democrats, but come together and say this type of activity cannot and will not stand. and we can govern together, we can have policy differences, but when you see rhetoric and stories about how policies are killing people, this can be the result of that. >> bill: we are waiting for police to brief us in a matter of moments. we have to wrap up our conversation. take us back to the dugout. you have left at what time? >> i was up to bat, when i heard the shots rang out. we immediately stopped and i probably said a choice word, and the next thing i heard was run. and i ran into the dugout and i

remember being on top of a few of other people, and i knew that was not a safe place. the gunshots after it slow down, eventually made it into an apartment building across the street where a good samaritan told three of us to come inside. >> bill: how many gunshots do you think the gunman was able to squeeze off at that point? >> you don't really count them as you are running away. >> bill: dozens, 50, we've heard 100. >> one is too many. >> bill: do you know how long it took capital police to return fire?

>> the capital police that were on on the ground it were part of scalise detail, and these are the people that saved many lives today. i called my wife and children immediately when i got a hold of the phone. >> bill: what did you tell them? >> i told them that i love you, and that dad is okay. >> bill: it's great to see you sir, thank you for your time. >> bill: still in his practice l uniform. the governor of virginia, capital police, this is the moment we have been waiting for. at 10:30 in washington.

>> good morning everybody, i am michael brown, chief of the alexander alexandria police department. we've been waiting to give you an update. here are some of the facts that we do at this point. before we start, this is an incident, not an active incident. the city is safe. we have had an active investigation going on. we want to be sure that the people of alexandria, this city is safe. the facts as we have it this morning, 9 minutes after 7:00,

we received a call of an active shooter. our units responded, and were on the scene within 30 minutes. the officers received fire from the suspect and the return fire. and that part of the investigation is ongoing as we speak. at this event, was a practice session involving representatives of congress and employees from congress. there were capital police and en route on the scene. the emergency medical personnel that responded on the scene were from the fire department as well as police officers providing treatment to people on the scene. we know that five of them were

transported by resources of people on the area to deal with people with injuries and provide treatment. at this point, the alexandria police department involved a fe, and the federal bureau of investigation has taken over. we welcome the work of the fbi. we are assisting the fbi along with other agencies that are trying to deal with the scene and incident. that said, i would also like to say our gratitude to the allied agencies that responded to this agency. we have individuals from the alexandria fire department and police department, trying to manage this thing. and i cannot be more proud of the members of the alexandria emergency department.

i would like to go ahead and introduce you to the member and chief of the capital police and their efforts. >> thank you chief. i would like to start off by thanking the alexandria police, and fire department. our federal law enforcement who assisted in this response. certainly, is a very large response. it is going to take a while to sort through the details. all that were on site when we had -- when the incident occurred. we did engage in gunfire with a suspect. the officers, capital officers that were injured are in good

condition and have not suffered any life threatening injuries at this point. as a get more information, we will be working with the fbi and local partners of the alexandria police to provide more detail as they become available but at this point, i would like to turn over to the fbi. >> good morning, i am in charge of the field office. i want to reiterate that this is a secure area at this point. the security of the area is paramount and i want to reassure you that that's the case. we got involved around 9:30 this morning. they were assisting our state and local partners.

once there was confirmed that we had a member of congress that was involved, we have taken the lead. however, this is a joint command and a joint investigation over state and local partners. our partners from the atf, alexandria county, and the city, and capital police as well. i'll take a couple of questions in just a second. i want to turn it over to the governor for a couple of comments. >> thank you. first of all, our thoughts and prayers go with everybody today that was affected by the incident. we are all here together from the state, local and federal level. i want to thank everybody that was involved, specifically the first responders. members of the neighborhood and community came out, and this was truly an extraordinary effort. and thank you for the capital

police for the quick action and her heroic efforts. i want to think all the first responders and law enforcement that were involved today. thank you. >> do you see that this was a deliberate attack, and an act of terrorism? >> it's too early to say. it's really raw at this moment. we are at the initial part of the investigation. we are working all angles right now. >> are you investigating that it could be an act of terrorism, and do you have any information on any tentative i.d. or

specifics on the identity of the shooter? >> yes we are. we are still working on it. >> was this former military? >> we are working on that. everybody injured has been transferred to the hospital and receiving treatment. >> the shooter asked whether these are republicans or democrats. >> we are working on that. no information on weapons. it still really early in the investigation. i don't know any of those facts, is too early to say one way or the other.

>> do you know the condition of the suspect and the people involved? >> the officers are doing better, i'm not sure about the suspect at this time. >> can you give us a sense that they were armed officers on the scene? >> yes, there was a protection team here. >> has the suspect began talking with you at this point? >> it is too early to tell and we are working on the logical steps at this point. >> what it appears that members of congress were targeted?

>> it's still early in the investigation and we are working through it. >> was the shooter from the region? >> we are working on that information. >> you said earlier that it was not an assassination attempt, can you clarify that? >> it's too early in the investigation to say one way or the other. i am not aware of what is appearance looks like. >> how can you and the chief and governor say that the community is safe, how can you rule out

that this is not a more widespread situation? >> from what i said earlier, i think we have a very good handle on it. >> can you verify more people were involved: >> we cannot verify. we do not know the weapon. >> we understand that the people wounded in a line of duty, can you give us an update? >> the injuries do not appear to be life threatening at this point. they are being treated at the local hospital. i am informed that they are in good condition. we received reports of gunfire through our communications, and we coordinated with the alexandria police.

early in this incident, we were told that shots were fired. this is too preliminary to go into the details of the investigation. it's suffice to say that the officers acted heroically today and we hope for their rapid recovery. i'm not going to comment on the names, numbers until i'm reasonably sure of the details. >> can you tell us about motivation and whether it was political? >> i'm not going to go into details. when the facts coming to light, we will share what we will shar share.

>> we are not going to comment on that like the chief said. it's significantly early. >> but you can confirm that five people were injured? >> i'm not going to confirm that. they were five people transported to hospitals. i'm not going to con comments n that as it is still early. let me comments on the communities. we secured the scene here. there's an awful lot of work that has happened, we brought in additional resources and assets that we can deal with any possible secondary thing. the investigation, if, in fact, it reveals something else, we

will respond to that. every indication is that this is an isolated incident, and that the investigation will be long-term. let me think you to the communities and agencies that responded. also to the alexandria sheriff's office. >> were there any other minor injuries? >> i cannot speak to any other information that others are reporting, folks. i will refer to the fbi on that information.

>> do you have any information prior that there is an active threat, and how satisfied are you? >> i can tell you that we have had no prior information to lead us to believe that anything like this would occur. >> do you think more needs to be in place to protect politicians? >> i think more needs to be in place to protect all of our citizens. we lose far too many americans to gun violence. this is not just about politicians, but we worry every day about all of our citizens.

i talked about this every single day. this is a very serious issue. we just buried a state trooper and special agent. this is senseless. the fbi is leading this. this is obviously very concerning. we lose 93 individuals a day to gun violence. that is far too many. from virginia's perspective, we monitor all this and we have no threats prior. >> this is so much political discourse and dialogue, and back and forth, are you concerned

that that climate in any way contributed to this action toda today? >> the investigation is going on. i do think that things have become very partisan, and we have to work together to get things done. we are the greatest nation on earth and there's too much discourse and in general, we need to work together to want bring people together and worry about economic development, safety, it education and that's what we need to focus our energies on. >> we do not have another briefing schedule at this time. we will work with the media at this location. >> bill: that was the headline for the briefing a moment ago. earlier this morning, shooting

occurred at the baseball park. they would not confirm if the shooter was one of the people transported to the hospital. capitol hill police responded, unseen and security detail with scalise. who knows what would've happened with this gunman, with one at least firearm and maybe more. as to whether it's an act of terrorism, we are exploring all avenues. we are working to see if the members of congress were targeted. >> all of those that stepped in to help practicing on the field, first responders, and capital police officers on the scene.

we are deeply indebted to their service. on behalf of the capital community. the congressional baseball game is a bipartisan charity event. we express our concern and gratitude. >> we offer our prayers to those that were injured. i was absolutely shaken by the news reported earlier this morning by the shooting and the baseball field. an event that brings us together each year, it is reported that representative scalise was shot

and two brave members of the police force, as well as a stafford staffer. we are thankful and expressed much gratitude to the officers that put their lives on the line to protect people every day. i was with senator paul and he told me that these two capital police officers were part of congressman scalise detail, without them it would have been a massacre. we think them, and send our thoughts and prayers to those that were wounded, and gratitude to the police officers and first responders on the scene.

>> bill: rather sober moments. the question is, is the suspect talking? we do not have that information at this time. the injuries appear to be nonlife threatening. >> shannon: it's amazing that the injuries were not more widespread than they were. we can now confirm the aid was shot. the world is very different right now. reports are that he is going to be okay. friends are in touch, and he also learned that the fbi will be working with all of the other

agencies, but will be leading the investigation. two officers were also shot and injured. at the hospital. >> shannon, we are outside the hospital. if you can hear me, this is where scalise was brought by helicopter shortly before 8:00 a.m. he is in good spirits and in good condition from our reports. we learned that the hospital, confirming on twitter received two victims of the shooting.

we can tell you from our sources that the second patient was one of the capital police officers that was on the security detail. she is in stable condition. as we learn, scalise has spoken with his wife and family. this certainly strikes a chord, because when you have detail like this, they become close associates, and she arrived in helicopter as well. we don't know any other details because the hospital is not telling us any other information whether she is in surgery or no not. scalise is in surgery, and we

have yet to hear any other details. one thing that is worth noting as you can see behind me, there is a strong police presence. they are not letting people in or near this hospital right now. we tried getting inside, but were immediately stopped. security is at a high level here behind me right now. right now it's just as many of her to come up prayers for the congressman and hoping that he will come out all right. we have a level one trauma hospital here with the best doctors in the nation. it is looking good, and we will keep you posted as soon as we hear anything. say to thank you very much. >> bill: we have reporters on

the scene first reporting this. we had gotten a lot of good details. as we speak of that treatment, dr. good morning to you. can you please go ahead and explain to us about treating someone on the scene and at the hospital? i can assume that initial treatment is life saving. >> somebody reportedly applied a tourniquet which slowed the blood loss. you can hear from reports that he was conscious and awake on his way to the hospital. he got there and the idea that

he is in stable condition. that is really, really good process not and to hear we havp trauma surgeons and doctors working on him right now. the chances are that he will make a full recovery. we want to watch out that there are not any nerve damage or artery damage. the key is making sure that you don't have any bleeding. you go in there and do exploratory procedures. you might actually leave the bullet in their to make sure that there are not any vital damage. all signs read that he will make

a full recovery. >> bill: the president will deliver remarks from the white house, so we will be prepared for that. >> shannon: we were not sure how they would proceed in the house and senate this morning. for a while, the chairman said that they were not sure how they would proceed. they had a moment of silence. my understanding is that they are proceeding with that hearin hearing. secretary to say that they are proceeding as usual. there will be in all member

briefing, and security will be ramped up. it's not your typical day on capitol hill. >> bill: all of the attention will return to the gunman. who is he? what is his motivation? what is his background? all of those pieces need to be filled in. is he awake at the hospital? all of those pieces will need to be filled in. we hear members from congress on camera describing in vivid detail what happened. that's quite stunning. eddie residential at eight a red

and area. you do not anticipate on any given day the events that unfolded as they have. and now it is a reality. you can see the people and witnesses that we talk to, it really tugs at them. they talk about policy and legislation, and how they get things done in washington or not. and it gets personal. you see these people as human beings again. our hearts go out to them and their families. >> shannon: apparently the coaches son was there during the events.

we are tending to scalise as best we can, and he was reassuring his family. >> bill: the president, >> jon: a fox news alert, we are continuing to follow the momentous events that took place on a baseball field in virginia at about 9 minutes after seven when gunshots rang out there. security in washington is on high alert, armed secret service agents are out in force at the white house. pedestrians have been cleared from pennsylvania avenue in front of the building. president trump responding to the shooting of congressman steve scalise earlier this morning. he took to twitter saying representative steve scalise of louisiana, a true friend and patriot, was badly injured, but