>> that's the premise of our emt or paramedic system. they just get that patient into an ambulance or a chopper and they get them to the hospital, so you have seen pretty extensive stabilization that was done at the scene, but for bleeding, anyone listening can do this themselves, you put direct, firm, continuous pressure on a wound. >> another point he makes is hydration. the congressman was saying he was thirsty, but this is the alexandria police chief. let's go there. >> once we have more information, we will certainly pass on whatever information we can to make sure that you have the information you need for your work. thank you very much. i'm going to turn -- i'm going to turn it back over to the alexandria chief. >> we're not going to answer any questions at this point because as the chief pointed out, this is an active, ongoing investigation at the crime scene. we are not going to answer any

questions. >> it's premature for us to respond any further. in an hour and a half, we'll come back and answer what we can speak to, and perhaps answer some questions at the time. this is a stable situation at this point. there is no additional threat. we consider this incident to be a closed incident under investigation. we'll be back in about an hour and a half. thank you. >> the police calling this a stable and closed situation, but active investigation. br brad garrett, what will they be doing next? >> the key here will be what was something beyond the shooter. in other words, what were his activities? what was in his car? how did he get there? did he travel with somebody else? i'm sure they have pulled the cell phone to see who he has talked to recently, and look at social media. as you and i talked a few minutes ago, they must be 100% sure he is the only guy, and so

that is still immediate activity and that's why i think both police chiefs wouldn't give any answers because they don't know what they have here other than a shooting scene. >> senator jeff flake is now joining us on the phone. senator flake was there at the scene at the baseball practice. senator flake, we're glad you are okay. early indications that congressman scalise will be okay. some encouraging news there. >> yeah. good. >> tell us what happened. >> well, we were having batting practice. i was standing near the dugout talking to our manager, joe barton of texas, and we heard a loud bang, and it sounded like a shot near us, but until the second one came, and then the third and then a rally. we weren't sure. there was pandemonium as you can imagine. he was near the third base dugout, and seemed to be firing

indiscrimina indiscriminately. he had a lot of ammo. steve scalise was hit pretty early, and he dragged himself out into the field. several of us dove right into the first base dugout, and then the capitol police started returning fire from behind us, and it went from there. >> you were in the first base dugout. the shooter was behind the third base dugout? >> around that area. he was outside of the fence, and then he came around, and by, you know, hindsight, i got a look at him then. he had a clear look into our dugout. there were about 12 people in our dugout on the ground, and he had a clear view n so in, so we

to get back down. this went on for ten minutes at least with dozens and dozens and dozens of rounds of fire. i didn't know, because we can't tell if it was behind us or friendly, or if it was another shooter, and we didn't know if he should stay in the dugout. i wanted to get steve scalise, who was laying out there in the field, but while there are bullets flying overhead, we couldn't. and as soon as somebody yelled the shooter's down, i sprinted out to steve, and he had a shot to the left hip, and he was bleeding quite a bit so, we put pressure on that for a while until the medics arrived. >> you saw the shooter and you thought he had a rifle and maybe some handguns as well. what else can you tell us about him? size? >> he looked to be probably in his 40s. dark hair and a blue shirt. we weren't looking too long. obviously, he had a clear sight to us, so we were trying to get

down, and there was -- there were bullets, you know, going and whizzing around the whole time, and it was a horrible scene. a couple of capitol policemen were shot as well, those that were returning fire. the one that -- one was shot in the leg or by the ankle, and he kept returning fire. can you hold for one second? one second. >> certainly. we're hearing also now from congressman gabby giffords. she was shot back in 2011. she says, my heart is with my former colleagues, their families and staff and u.s. capitol police. public service and heroes today and every day. we know that the police returned fire on that shooter. senator jeff flake was just telling us that the shooter down, and alexandria police have said it is a stable, closed situation at this point. they expect to come out with

more details in the next hour, hour and a half. cecilia vega is on the scene for us at the white house. >> reporter: we're told that the vice president is on his way to the white house, and he had an event that was supposed to be taking place now, and that has been canceled. the white house is monitoring this situation closely. the vice president has sent out a tweet extepidinding his thoug and prayers to steve scalise. he says his wife, and i, are hoping and praying for a speedy recovery. our hearts are with them and their recovery. this is a very fluid situation, but george, the vice president is on his way to the white house. >> we are waiting to hear from the u.s. capitol police as well confirming this incident and beefing up the u.s. presence around the capitol right now. we can expect that. pierre, likely, around washington, d.c. today. >> reporter: exactly, george. they have to respond because of

the potential for copycats. what you are going to see inside the capitol, additional police, more dogs walking around. bomb-sniffing dogs even, and law enforcement officials are pointing to the fact that in this case, we have yet another example of a shooting situation involving a man with a long rifle. this is a doistinctly american phenomenon that we see. they put out we average at least 16 of these shootings each year. one per month, and they don't make the head lines sometimes. law enforcement is trying to get information out to their partners in the region. sources are emphasizing, george, how the security detail that was with the congressmen practicing this morning saved lives today. that they were heroic in their response. you have heard reports of one officer being injured and returning fire. they have literally saved lives.

there will now be questions about whether you need more security than that when that many congressmen are out in a public place. that will surely be part of conversation, but my sources are talking about how heroic those security personnel were today. >> senator rand paul said it would have been a massacre but for those. we have seen those shootings at schools and workplaces. now we have seen them at a park in alexandria, virginia. members of congress practices baseball. that is the scene and police have closed down that scene. they say this is an active investigation. we want to go back, and we have another eyewitness who we were able to put on tape. let's hear what he had to say. >> how long -- so there were two bits of gunfire, and how long did they last? >> pop, pop, pop. there was return and then another bunch. it went on for a while. i would say at least four to five minutes starting and stopping. so it could have been someone who was trying to catch the guy that was shooting at him, or he

was beginning to take out everybody, and i'm thinking that. >> you ran into the house and felt concerned and elaborate on what was going on in your mind. >> you're mowing the lawn and there are shots up the street, you don't want to get shot just to mow your grass. >> well, that's an understatement right there. i want to bring brad garrett back in as well. fi confirming what we have heard right there from jeff flake. he may have had handguns in addition to rifles and the shooter was able to get off a large number of shots unmolested in a short number of minutes. >> apparently not a good sho shooter, george. it doesn't take a good shooter to accurately shoot an ar-15. something was causing him not to shoot accurately. the timing we never know until after the fact, but the first initial shots, the capitol

police then start returning fire, which then threw him off. >> what bolsters your point is when we heard from senator flake is in some ways the members of congress were basically sitting ducks this insiinside that dugo. >> that tells you the intent was to go after the adult players. they are in some form or fashion attached to the gop. the focus is not like talking about islamic extremists who will just shoot anybody in sight. this is what i call targeted shooting where they are going for a group or individual, and i think that's what you have today. >> knowing because it was well known as we learned from other eyewitnesss the members of congress have been practicing there for several days.

>> exactly. the idea that virtually anybody could figure out where they might be at that point playing baseball. and there is a reasonable factor here about how much security can you have? you can't take 150 capitol police officers with you every time you go play a baseball game. it's just not reasonable, so as senator paul pointed out a few minutes ago to you, george, without those two officers there to at least deflect and/or put down the shooter from the ability to shoot accurately, is literally what stopped this shooting -- this conversation would be probably about multiple casualties. >> how soon will they be able to start interrogating the gunman? >> i'm sure they have already started. alexand alexandria police, which this is their jurisdiction, probably have him at their shop. they will have capitol police,

but the interview with him, i guarantee you started shortly after they got him into a car. >> right away, and they did say the alexandria police would be coming back in about an hour or hour and a half. we're hearing from congressman williams who was at the game who said, he was not shot. this is from his office, a member of the congress was shot and is receiving medical attenti attention. cecilia vega, we're getting more reports from those on the scene who were wounded. so far, no independeications th of those are life-threatening. >> reporter: thank goodness, and we saw steve scalise being wheelwhee wheeled out on that stretcher, and hearing from jeff flake who was there in his baseball jersey. just hard to really frankly get your mind around these reports coming in right now. the white house is monitoring closely. the president and vice president

have both tweeted, we understand there has been a huge increase in police presence. visible police presence outside the capitol there as these images come in from that baseball practice. just viewers outside of washington, to say one more time, this is a suburb of the district. this is where a number of people live and commute into washington. it's about seven miles or so away from the white house, and this baseball practice was happening before a big game. it was to take place on saturday. something that is celebrated near the democrats and republicans. george, i want to just reiterate to you some information that we have coming in right now. some pretty incredible details from a congressman, ron desantis who is from florida, i believe, who was on that baseball diamond. he is describing the shooting at that practice. he says that -- that a shooter

was walked up. this is an interview on fox news i want to say. a shooter walked up to us asking whether it was republicans or democrats out there. the congressman found that a little odd and the shooter walked toward all the area where all of this happened, and he was -- they did not see him to be carrying at the time, but again, george, just absolutely incredible. this is one congressman's account from that baseball field. he says that the shooter specifically asked whether there were republicans or democrats on the field. this was a republican baseball practice, and the shooter opened fire. one senator telling us that 50 shots fired would be an understatement. some saying as many as 100, and four people were shot out there today. >> i want to bring brad garrett back in on that. this is one account from a congressman who was on the scene saying this -- he heard the

shooter ask if these were republicans or democrats, and this bolsters your theory this was somewhat target. >> clearly. whatever his agenda with, it was focused on the republicans. i'm going to guess, george, not anybody in particular. that this was sort of a global, i'm angry at this group or that group, and i'm going to go after that. this is a guy who probably didn't think a lot about this. as you mentioned earlier, he didn't show up with body armor, and he had a hand ggun in addition, and something set him off last night or this morning. these guys feel powerless. this stuff, at least temporarily empowers them and it's like taking control of their lives. granted, that's totally illogical. if you pull these stunts, you're not a logical person to begin with. >> you are saying this fits a

profile? >> yeah. not knowing one more thing about hum, george, that's what you are going to have. you're going to have a guy that has probably not been very successful in life or has had recent failures. is blaming at least at this point the gop and whatever his issues are in life. they externalize their problems because their problems become our problems and they go after people they think collectively have harmed them, and i think that is what you have got with this guy. >> brad garrett, thanks very much. we want to bring in brad westbrook on the phone as well as ohio congressman. thank you for joining us. congressman wenstrup, can you hear me? >> yes. >> tell us what you were able to do and describe what was happening on the scene. >> i was at the batting cage, and we heard a gunshot and then

we heard several more, and saw steve scalise was down around second base. i was along the right field line, and everybody hit the deck and was scurrying for cover. fortunately, there was security detail with mr. scalise, or we wouldn't have been protected. he was crafty, firing toward third base, second base and then moved to the infield side of the dugout, firing and he kept mobile. and then he went around, behind a building that's behind home plate and was firing the same rifle tr there. and he went back around the building and at some point came out with a pistol, and that's when the security detail was able to take him down. when it appeared he was down, i ran onto the field with jeff flake to steve and did what i did in iraq and dressed the

wounds and cut down the clothes and made sure you stopped bleeding and we were able to bandage him more appropriately, and started giving him as much fluid as we could, gatorade and water. he was losing a lot of blood. >> he was conscious all the time you were with him? >> yes. yes, and i was testing him. he would count to five. things like that, to make sure steve, do you know where you are? yeah. a baseball field. he was conscious the whole time. he was noticeably in pain, and we tried not to move him very much to prevent any further injury. >> we heard a report that congressman desantis said that before the gunman opened fire, he heard him ask, are these democrats. >> reporter: republican-- or re? did you hear him say anything? >> i was too far away, but the report was that one of the congressmen left early, and someone approached him saying,

are these republicans or democrats? these are republicans. that was the end of the conversation. >> a lot of people walk around this were ballpark and they are out exercising, and it's not uncommon to have people gathering around. we weren't expecting something like this. >> this is a place you have been practicing pretty regularly, right? >> yeah. for years, this is where we practice, and it's early in the morning. and we start around 6:00, 6:30 in the morning. you don't expect it to be like today. today, it seems like anything will happen. it's a bad day. >> it's a sad day, and thank goodness, you were able to get there and treat the congressman so quickly. you mentioned your service in iraq. from what you can tell t way the shooter was maneuvering and shooting, did it seem like he had any kind of training? i don't know. not based on his first shot. and the reports of his first shot. just because his first shot missed. but i don't -- i don't know the

extent of his training, but he certainly was well equipped. he had a lot of ammunition and he at least knew how to maneuver somewhat, but it was strange, george, at the end, that he came out in the open with his pistol. but i'm glad he did because that's when they were able to take him down. >> he had been taking fire when he came out into the open with his pistol? >> oh, yeah. he had definitely been under fire, and you could hear the air coming out of some of the vehicles there. many of us are on a bus to capitol hill, and we left our cars and equipment and whatever else we could. >> have you received any other guidance from the capitol hill police or the speaker's office about things going forward? >> yeah, we do. we're also getting prepared for such things, although you just -- it's kind of surreal when you hear that first

gunshot. you can't believe it is actually happening, but i think people amazingly, were brave and responded appropriately, and members had to maneuver too. some were hiding behind trees when this guy had to move, they had to move. you saw them get to a more secure place. i think people did a great job. i can tell you first hand these policemen are extremely brave, and did what he was supposed to do to minimize any damage. he might have been in worse shape with the constant return fire, but he was in the laying position. he minimized the damage. >> how about the others that were injured? we have reports of the police being shot, and a staffer and l lobbyist. do you know their condition? >> i don't know. but i know two others, law enforcement was injured.

one staffer was injured and there might have been one other. people are contusions and abrasions from diving onto concrete and getting out of harm's way. >> how many were out there? there were family members as well. how big was the group there? >> you have about 25 members of congress, and staff i would say were up between -- around 40 or so. >> so 40 people out there including children. well, congressman, thank you for telling us what you were able to learn today and also for that big help you gave to congressman scali scalise. we are glad you are okay, and ewith know you are working your way back to the capitol. we want to go to pierre thomas. our senior justice correspondent. a portrait of what may have happened on the scene. >> reporter: exactly, george. i just spoke to congressman peter king, who has served on the homeland security committee and he talked about just how fortunate the congressmen were

today. the congressman who is a medical doctor and the fact he was there at the scene and able to help congressman scalise. also, he said that again, his early information that he has been provided, no nexus to international terrorism at the moment. it is early in the investigation. the shooter's background is being of the inned investigated and he spoke about the law enforcement officials again, able to respond quickly to keep this from being worse than when it was. he said that he expected there to be more security throughout the capitol today as police try to put people at ease, and prevent a copycat situation, george. >> thanks. david kerley is on the scene now. massive police presence, but as we heard from the chief, right now, the incident is a stable situation. >> reporter: i would call it a stable situation, and agree with the police chief on that, george, but they called this a

closed incident, with all due respect to the police chief, this is a very active scene behind me. still blocks and blocks, are cordoned off with yellow police tape, and there is a tremendous amount of police presence here as they continue their investigation. which the police chief say they are doing. now as pierre thomas mentioned, it was a quick response. the police chief pointed out that within three minutes, they had officers at the park. you can see the fire trucks on the left side. the park is up to the left side, but you can see they have moved us back two or three blocks and this is the entire area in alexandria that remains cordoned off so they can conduct their investigation with the fbi and also the atf, george. >> we expect to hear from police in about an hour? >> reporter: we're supposed to hear from the police again. you were there with the news conference just a little while ago, when the police chief said

they weren't going to answer any questions at that point. we have gotten so much information from some of the police chiefs, but we'll get more from the police officers and the police chief. it was supposed to be in about an hour. >> this all started to unfold at about 7:00 this morning, and members of congress, republican members of congress, senators and members of the house were practicing for their baseball game. a lone gunman was described in his late 40s, early 50s in a blue shirt with a rifle and perhaps a handgun as well. opened fire on the field from behind the third base dugout, hitting congressman steve scalise and at least four others. the gunman is now down. he is in custody. the police consider this a closed incident. no indications yet that this is tied to terrorism. no indications of a motive. we have one report from one

member of congress that someone asked him if they were republicans or democrats on the field. no confirmation that was indeed the shooter. cecilia vega, you have been with us all morning. the white house has been on top of this, and this has sent a shock wave throughout the capitol. >> absolute shock wave, especially here on the grounds of the white house, and the street outside the white house has been closed to tourists. we're told out of abundance of caution, george. i want to reiterate what you just said because the details are coming in because it's a fluid scene, and congressman desantis did not say this was the shooter that he believes this was the shooter that walked up and asked whether this was republicans or democrats. he said a man walked up, but he found it very strange and this happened before the shooting. another congressman, mo brooks,

more details coming in from him right now. he says -- and brooks was on the field when this happened. actually at bat and he never heard the shooter utter a word. what he did hear, again, more details from that baseball diamond, a screaming, a lot of hollering. people were yelling, shooter, shooter. active shooter in the dugout, and he says those congress members laid on the ground and we know many of them rushed to the aid of congressman steve scalise. he was hit, we believe in the hip, but he is in stable condition, and thankfully, going to be okay. but yes, george, the white house is monitoring this closely. the word from the president and vice president is both from them s that everybody is in their thoughts and prayers as they watch this situation. >> mary bruce on capitol hill right now. our congressional correspondent getting the first reaction from the speaker of the house, paul ryan. >> reporter: we are, george, and i want to tell you we are back here in our senate office

because they are clearing out the area in in front of the capitol. we know out of caution, while the capitol complex is operating, they are clearing out tourists from the area. they are having trouble right now, as they came in about 15 minutes, and they saw lawmakers with constituents and that has now all changed because out of an abundance of caution, they are shutting down the area of the capitol. >> speaker ryan out with a tweet saying this morning, the hearts of the whole house are with steve scalise, the brave capitol police staff and all those who were in harm's way. we talked about this before, but in recent years, the capitol has been fortified against incidents like this. barriers to block automobiles against the complex and metal detecters for the tourists.

>> reen on a normeven on a norm hard to get into the capital. everything gets looked at careful li carefully. and even on the roads, the office buildings are all blocked with those barriers. any car coming near the capitol building is checked very closely. we have been talking about security. members of leadership like steve scalise travel everywhere with their personal detail. that includes within this building itself. we talked to members in the hallway, and every time we talk with members of leadership, their security is with them. even if they are moving from meeting to meeting. they are always with them, and with steve scalise today. other members of congress don't travel with their own personal detail. we see them off and about without a robust security. >> you only have a handful of senior members of congress who have that security.

>> it's just the leadership usually. scalise is the republican whip, the third top ranking republican in the house. he has security detail with him everywhere. he goes. paul ryan. senate leadership as well, but ranking file members don't travel with security, but when you have a baseball field full of lawmakers, you only see the personal detail of congressman scalise. seemed to be the only security there. >> and from what we can tell, the u.s. capitol police and capitol detail on the scene there, saved a lot of lives today. mary bruce, thank you very much. we have another eyewitness on tape right now. >> unreal. unreal. i have been here for close to 20 years. never have any problems. you barely hear police sirens. and for something like this to happen is just -- again, unreal. >> and the fact that it is members of congress, that it is members of congress that were involved in this charity baseball game, does that impact

you in a way more than just the simple fact there is shooting here? >> just again, members of congress. it could have been democrats, republicans, what have you. a simple game of baseball. it's not even 9:00 a.m. yet. you know, people are getting shot up, and it seemed like the guy was firing on whoever. >> pierre thomas, you have made the point that these are the routines of daily life. baseball ga games, kids going t school, meetings at workplaces interrupted by these horrible scenes of gunfire. >> reporter: and to that quickly come to mind are the colorado theater shooting of a few years back. so many injured and killed at that. also newtown of course, and we are looking at some at the recent mass shootings, usually involving assault rifles of some sort. this is a list of them. you can't see it closely, but

this is just a list of printout of shooting after shooting after shooting of part of american life. you have heard witness after witness saying this kind of thing doesn't happen there, but this kind of occurrence in american life happens are you te routinely, george. >> we have another congressman on the phone with us. what can you tell us about what you saw? >> good morning. i spent four years in the marines and this is the first time i heard gunfire. standing by the batting cage, first round rang out and everybody kind of listened and another one came following shortly thereafter, and we knew it was real. everybody just started the scramble because from my perspective, standing by the batting cage and hearing where the gunfire came from, i did a low crawl and got behind the dugout. that was my first steppe. >> were you able to see the

shooter? >> nope. he was hidden behind the third base dugout. the only people that would have probably had a chance to see him would have been those standing at shortstop or second base because he was at an angle that he was shielded, but he was on the home plate to first base side initially. >> we have heard from senator paul, and others who said that he was able to shoot for a while. five to ten minutes, and he was able to get off a lot of rounds. >> yeah. he was concealed. he was moving around. it would appear as they he was moving down the third baseline if you will. he was outside the chain link fence, and he was moving towards the backstop. those of us who had sought cover behind the first base dugout got around and got into the first

base dugout because the cement would at least, you know, deflect if round, and at that point, which scalise's security team was engaging, they came from behind the first base dug it y -- dugout, and they were eng e engaging him, and behind home plate if you will, outside of the backstop. outside of the chain link fence. >> you say he was moving a fair amount. was he frantic? methodic methodical? did he know what he was doing? >> couldn't tell. i didn't get eyes on him until after he was down. >> this is an unimaginable thing to be happening at your baseball practice. how is everybody doing? others who were on the scene? >> yeah. i mean, you know, this is -- if you will, this is the kind of experience that puts people, most people, into some lower or

mid level of shock because you're absorbing this, and potentially part of it, and now it's the value here of the group is that we're together and on a bus, heading back to the office building parking lot here, but the safety and security of the group and the sharing of the experience, i believe will help everybody get through this. >> well, thank goodness for that. before i let you go, do you know anything else about the condition of the others who were shot? >> no. i -- i do not. they were applying tourniquets and i saw the officer who had -- she took the shot in the lower leg, but that's about all i know. those two will survive no problems. >> glad you are okay. thank you for sharing your story. jen ashton is here.

dr. jen ashton, tourniquet on steve scalise. what would they be doing now? >> he arrives at a trauma center. very quick assessment. is the patient stable r unstabl? if they are stable, they go for rapid imaging. cat scans and everything else. you can often see an entry wound and you can't always find the exit wound and what the trajectory of the bullet was in the body, that determined what teams you need in the operating room. if it's bullet to bone, that would be orthopedic, and if it's vascular, blood vessels in the pelvis, that one vascular, and possibly five patients arrive at one trauma center. this isn't just about the surgeons. there are nurses, and ancillary

staff that all take care of this. >> he said this is the first time he heard gunfire, but a lot of people on that scene will be dealing with shock. >> trauma, and if you listen carefully, george, to some of the eyewitness accounts, you can hear it in their voices. there is kind of a detachment. they were talking about what they saw in a matter of fact way. i saw a shooter and heard this many gunshots. that's not a normal thing to say at any time of the day, let alone in the morning in this environment. there will be counsellors dealing with these patients and the first responders in the coming hours. >> i want to go back to another eyewitness on the scene. a photographer who was there. tell me your name and what you saw. >> morning. i was standing near first base. i saw a white male with a rifle,

and i -- what went through my mind, i was surprised. why would anybody bring a rifle to a ballpark? but he was behind the third base gate, behind the fence. and then when he started firing, all i heard was, go into the dugout, and i dove into the dugout on top of a congressman, and when the -- because i'm not a gunman, i -- i figured that he was finished, and apparently was equipped and he was reloading, and he started shooting again, and while we were on the ground, there was somebody in the dugout saying, get closer to the wall because he is shooting towards the dugout, and somebody told me after we got out, that a bullet

apparently went into the dugout because it took out a piece of concrete on the wall. >> so into the dugout. what else can you tell us about the shooter from the limited things you could see? also, did he say anything? >> it happened so fast. i mean, he was just -- it's just pictured. somebody standing outside of the third base gate when there is a baseball practice on. somehow your mind doesn't assess spectators, and then i saw him lift the weapon, and then we were told to get into the dugout, but he just -- he seemed very calm. >> seemed very calm. >> you know, that's a fraction of a second look. i didn't see -- and from a distance, from first base to way

behind third base, so we're talking about long distance. >> and then after what? ten minutes, the capitol police were able to return fire. did you see any of that? >> i did not say ten minutes. all i remember is the capitol police -- the reason we knew the capitol police were firing was that there were two different sounds from the weapons. >> right. right. well, thank you. thank you very much, marty. thank you for telling us about that. let's two to another eyewitness. ron desantis was at the field as well today. he is joining us, and forgive me, but i believe you had left the practice a little early? >> yes. so i was actually fielding ground balls at third. jeff duncan from south carolina was at short. steve was at second base. we had all hit already. other guys were hitting and jeff

and i looked at each other because d.c. traffic is terrible. we said, let's get on the road to get back to the hill. i was probably five minutes, ten minutes before the shots started as we went to our car. there was an individual, middle-aged, caucasian male that asked us, you know, hey s that republicans? democrats? we were, like, republicans and he kind of turned and went towards the field. so i passed along that description to the capitol police. as soon as we saw the news, we called each other and said, was that guy that confronted us -- it's on odd thing that clicks, so we both provided that. this is a wide open field. it's a community field. people can show up and sit in the bleachers. they are picnic tablelike bleachers. we use the first base dugout, so all the equipment is in the first base side, and the third

base side is wide open. >> what was his manner? >> it was just weird. we were in the car and he kind of, like, walked over to us and asked us that, and again. i didn't think he was -- if it even is the same guy. >> was he wearing a blue shirt? >> you know, i think he was, but i'm not 100% sure. i kind of saw more from the chest up because i was in the backseat of the car by then, and then he talked to jeff in the passenger side, but it was just the type of thing that you think about and you shrug, and jeff and i called each oerp ather, a said, we have to pass along that description. people walk their dogs and it's not like there are never people there, but there are never -- and steve gets the detail. if he was not there, you would have had all the staff and the

congress members and there would not have been anybody on scene to respond. >> the shooter was described with dark hair. did you get a look at his hair? >> the gentleman that came to us did have dark hair. again, i don't know if it was the same guy. caucasian male with dark hair. >> late 40s, early 50s? >> that's correct. that matches the other description we have heard, but we can't know for sure. >> what else have you been able to hear from other members of congress since you have left? >> everything i have heard from sources is that the whip is obviously injured, but he is going to pull through, this is a relief. we think the same with the staff and with congressman williams, and so, you know, obviously, that's a very, very important thing for us, and we're all kind of on pins and needles making sure these guys pull through. >> as a ranking file member,

what kind of security briefings do you get? how do you learn what you should be careful about? >> you know, it's interesting, george. our security briefings are focused on when you are in your district. the idea is when you are on the hill, you have the capitol police, the people that come and go to our offices and do the megane t magnetometers, and here's what you need to be doing for security, and we have done that on various town halls. the local law enforcement will work with us, but that's kind of -- there is way more security here than there is in the district. now the baseball thing is kind of -- it's kind of a fluke. we all just show up and there would have been zero security had steve not been there, and it's just something we have been doing for years. >> but -- and you have been practicing at this field for years. so it is possible that someone knew that you all had been

regularly going to this park. >> without question, and not only that, you if you were just passing by, you have got a lot of guys in their 50s and 60s. you see security when scalise is there. it's not just like a community youth baseball or anything like that. it's something that would be different for somebody looking by, but it wouldn't be that difficult to put two and two together even if they knew nothing about it previously. >> thank you for joining us, and i want to go back to mary bruce on capitol hill. >> reporter: we got an update on the condition of steve scalise. he is undergoing surgery, but he is in stable condition. he was in good spirits despite the horrific event, and they confirm he was shot in the hip, and he spoke on the phone with his wife and he is grateful for the brave actions of the police. the first responders and his

colleagues. we are seeing just a complete outpouring of the support up here on capitol hill. everyone showing their support for those who were injured and of course, for those brave first responders you were just talking about. if they had not been there, and they were not there to protect leader scalise, you shudder to think what may have happened. he spoke on the phone with his wife, and jeff flake said he wanted to call scalise's wife, and placed a call and she may find out from news reports. the capitol community coming together around its own members, and as for what's happening here on the hill right now, it was business as usual in morning, but they are shutting down here. >> another congressman on camera now. congressman mo brooks. >> it occurred to me what he could do is if he got around that third base dugout and made his way towards home plate, and me and two or three other

congressmen -- i forget who was with me. he went head first in the dirt behind a plastic tarp. we were the next targets and it was a wise decision for us when we thought we had no choice. we jumped into the first base dugout which is about two feet below ground level so it has some protection. as i understand it, the shooter was shot behind home plate, where all of us, two or three or four of us were on the ground there, and we would have been his next victims. >> do you know who he was shot by? >> it was one of our two capitol police officers who engaged him. >> how long did it take to engage him? >> it seemed like a long time. it seemed like 60 to 120 seconds. a minute or two. i was able to hide behind the batting cage, make it to the dugout, take off my belt because

one of the staffers was wounded. he was bleeding from his calf, and i put the belt as a tourniquet onto his leg, and then, you know, we're breathing dugout dust face-first down, and then we started hearing gunshots about 5 feet from me, and i see one of our capitol police officers shooting from around the corner of the dugout. the first base dugout toward the third base dugout toward the man with the rifle, and i don't know how long it was. i'm sure it was evefelt like fo. but i think it was only 60 to 120 seconds. they were trying to figure out where the shooter was, and where the capitol police were stationed. they had the dugouts between themselves and the shooter.

>> this is going to become a security area. >> did you hear him say or scream anything? >> i didn't hear anything from the shooter. i heard steve scalise shouting, and that's it. there were people screaming into the cell phones for backup. >> the capitol police officers shot the suspect, right? >> i don't think the local police yet arrived. it was a long time before we heard a siren. i think the shooter was targeting all of us. steve scalise was at second base and closest proximity. >> at what point did you see him go down? >> in the first two or three shots. he was probably the first person shot, but i can't say for sure. >> can you talk about the history -- >> we are being moved for security reasons. we're going to -- let's just continue to follow him.

>> we just heard from congressman mo brooks and other congressmen on the scene at a baseball practice where a gunman opened fire. at least four injured. we believe one of those injured was the shooter. he is down. he is in custody, and police are saying this is a stable situation, still an open investigation. i want to go to pierre thomas, our senior justice correspondent, atf, and fbi also called to the scene. >> reporter: yes. federal authorities are ingauen. atf will track that gun, and that is critically being done, and also the fbi is assisting alexandria police and capitol police to do any background information on the shooters. unclear how much information they have on them just yet. we are being told the shooter was injured and taken to the

hospital, so he could be receiving medical treatment which could slow things down, but urgent traces on that rifle, george. >> congressman steve pilazo is on the phone with us. you have spoken to members that were there? >> that's correct. i had a previous engagement on the calendar, so i wasn't going to be at practice this morning, but i have had the opportunity to talk to some of my colleagues, and we were shocked. the mood is very some pber, and just a general state of disbelief. >> it's so fortunate for the members there. and we're hearing that steve scalise and others are likely to be okay, but had his security detail not been there, this could have been far worse. >> no doubt about it, george. if it wasn't for steve scalise not being there -- or, you know, if it wasn't for him -- if he

wasn't there, his security detail wouldn't have been there, and there would have been nothing standing between members, staff, innocent bystanders and this gunman. it could have been a horrific scene, and so i'm just praying to god that the capitol police are heroes, that were there today. >> have the members of congress been given any kind of warnings for incidents like this? any increased concern or not really? >> no. i haven't seen any security alerts, you know, when we travel and do public events in the district, it has become second nature, and we learn our law enforcement communities, but you never expect this to happen to you. it happens to the other guy, but up here, we're in washington, d.c. one of the safest places on

earth, and, you know, capitol police officer almost on every corner, and you are out in the suburb of virginia playing baseball at 7:30 in the morning. and a shooter comes up and just starts opening fire? i mean, these people never expect that, but i guess you just got to be vigilant and you got to be aware of your situation. you know, in our jobs, it has become dangerous, and we have to be aware of our surroundings and take precautions, protect our families and our staffers and ourselves. >> well said. steve palazzo, and we want to go back to mo brooks on the scene. >> i was close to it. 80, 90 feet away. if he just shifted his view 20, 30 degrees to the right, then he would have had a clear shot at us at home plate, and i was the

closest to him. i heard a shot from steve scalise. i don't remember what was said because people were yelling, active shooter. i think steve scalise was yelling, i was hit or scream in because he got hit with the pain reaction. from there, once i realized that i was in a very bad position, i ran around the batting cage, which is a chain link area with a cover. it might not be chain link. it might be a plastic webbing. it has plastic around it, so at least the shooter can't see you anymore. i ran to the first base side, and then lied down, hit the dirt along with other congressmen or senator. i don't know who was next to me,

but there were three or four of us. it occurred to me if the shooter came around the third base dugout, he would have us 10, 15 feet away lying on the ground, an easy shot. while he was still shooting, i made the decision that it was probably smarter thing to do to take a chance of getting shot while running. i dove in as did the other people who were with me, and hit the deck. in the dugout. in the dugout, there are a dozen or so people. some are on their cell phones screaming that we have an active shooter and that ewe need assistance. i see that one to our staff members has a bullet hole in his leg, in his calf. i take off my belt and myself and another gentleman, and i don't remember who it was, applies the belt as a tourniquet to austral

to his leg. that staffer was saying it wasn't bad at all. there was a hole in his leg. we put on the tourniquet despite his remarks. laid down on the dugout floor again, shortly thereafter, just loud explosions. and i look up and there is a guy with a gun about 5 feet above me, shooting. at first you don't know if that's a second shooter. but it turned out to be one of our guys shooting back, risking themselves, giving us protection. when i say risking themselves, you're shooting 90 to 1 -- 100 feet away, and one guy has a pistol, and one guy has a rifle. that's not a fair fight. security detail with us is engaging the shooter and trying to pin him down behind the third base dugout. at some point or another, he goes around the third base dugout towards home plate where

he is taken down and if we had stayed we would have been easy targets. good for the grace of god and the aim of those shooters -- clu excuse me. our capitol police officers shooting back. there were another dozen or so of us. senator jeff flake was there. i can't keep track of who was there. it was b it could have been very bad. the police were rifling against a pistol. and they sacrificed themselves in the line of duty protecting us. >> did you hear the gunman say anything? >> did they have a sense they came here because you were here? >> there was one person. >> right. he. >> a republican baseball practice, united states

congressman. i can't imagine him going there for any other reason. >> have you been worried about the -- we have seen >> we in the united states congress have always been high profile targets. the president is the highest. you saw what happened with 9/11. we understand we're high profile targets. kathy gifford drove that home when she was shot and some other people were killed in arizona and other kinds of threats that occurred on a regular basis. i've had my name on the internet with a bounty. if you shoot me and some other congressmen and so we understand the risk. it goes with the job and you do what you can to try not only to protect yourself but those with you. typically speaking congressman

and senators cannot protect themselves that much because normally if there's a shooter you're the first target. what you need to do is make sure you have law enforcement available so after the gunman has shot you or the senator depending who is presiding over the event, that the law enforcement officials that were there can prevent others from having their lives lost as was the case with gabby giffords. i'm sorry. my bad. i'm still a bit emotional. but gabby giffords having been shot in arizona where the second, third, fourth and fifth shots, a lot of them. if we had better law enforcement protection then the casualties probably would have been less. >> did you see the guy? >> did the man say anything? >> i never heard him say anything. he did not say anything before he started shooting. i never heard him say anything. after the shooting started what i heard were gunshots.

rifle shots and gunshots and a lot of hollering. [ talking over one another ] >> most people at home don't recognize you guys don't -- >> if you're joining us on the west coast this is our continuing coverage of a shooting that occurred outside of washington, d.c. shortly after 7:00 a.m. morning. this is the scene in alexandria, virginia right now. a lone shooter approaching delray park in virginia. a little over three hours ago alt the congressional baseball practice. republicans practicing for their baseball game. opened fire. shooting congressman steve scalise, the third ranking republican member of the house of representatives. he was injured in the hip. we believe they're not life-threatening. four others injured including the gunman who is now in custody according to officials. police say it is a stable situation now. the gunman in custody. security has been stepped up at the capitol and the white house. it was a chaotic scene.