y2e46y y5yy >> this is a breaking news alert. >> at least two minutes to three minutes, it was chaos. >> 30-50 shots i heard. >> steve scalise was out in the field, dragged himself after he was shot. >> the emotional shock of seeing your friend shot, you are defenseless and we would have been the next victims. >> our lives were saved by the capitol police, had he not been there, it would have been a massacre. coming to you live from eugene simpson park in alexandria, the scene from what could have been a massacre, five members of congress, to members, steve scalise

minority whip, he was playing second base at 7:00 this morning practicing because of the victim tomorrow at nationals park against the democrats. these were all republicans. -- 7:08, steve scalise was out and a man standing on the third-base line walked out the fence line and yelled out, are these democrats or republicans? somebody told him republicans and moments later shots ring out . he had a long rifle and opened fire. steve scalise was sit i -- hit in the hip. the security detail, if not for steve scalise, there would not have been anybody with a gun to fight back. security members came flying out of their car and engage the shooter. we have talked to peop

minutes and people were calling 911, on the phone, they said they were ringing off the hook with people telling them what was happened. the shooter had a long rifle and reloaded at some point. magazine,a 30 round he went through 60 rounds of ammunition may be on the field. after the security engage them and shot back at him, there was a shootout between them and both security guards were hit. one in the ankle. that officer shot the man in the chest. we have identified the man as 66-year-old james t. hodgkinson from illinois, only had been in the area couple of months. his facebook page shows he was not happy with donald trump and clearly targeted republicans. we know he had a rifle and the police finally confronted him, he had a pistol out when they shot him. the president talked about the situation, here is what he had to say.

differences, but we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in our nations capital is here because, above all, they love our country. we can all agree we are blessed to be americans. that our children deserve to grow up in a nation of safety and peace. and that we are strongest when we are unified. park is completely closed. law enforcement is all over the area. they have a big investigation to .ry to re-create what happened we have team coverage this afternoon with reporters covering every angle, from the shooting that took place to the man now dead, who caused all of this. let's start with what happened

coverage. -- just aftere 7:00 this morning in the 400 block of east monroe street. that is the location. the simpson park where authorities were participating in a practice for the softball game you referenced. authorities say gunfire rang out and immediately the alexandria police department got here within three minutes and that is when gunfire was exchanged. because the dignitary unit was here from capitol police, they assisted. we had an opportunity at a press conference this morning to hear from the chief of the capitol police about the gunfire exchanged when they arrived on scene along with alexandria police.

>> we received reports of gunfire throughout the medications. -- medications and recorded -- communications and we coordinated with the alexandria police. shots were fired. suzanne -- >> this is not what today is about. suzanne: the chief telling us -- it was members of the dignitary protection unit that was involved in the gunfire. they were transported to the hospital. the chief described to us the condition of the officers saying non-life-threatening and they were in good conditions. also terry mcauliffe was telling us about his concerns, offering his thoughts and prayers. when asked about gun

this is how he responded. this is notffe: what today is about but there are too many guns on the street, we lose 93 million americans per day to gun violence. i have long talked about this, background checks, shutting down venture loopholes, that is not for today but is is not just about politicians, we worry about this every day for all citizens. because it was an assault on a federal officer, the fbi has taken over the investigation in alexandria although the alexandria police department will be assisting with the virginia state police. sam sweeney is closer to the crime scene that where i am. we are taught -- we have talked to people who were shocked by what happened here early this morning. sam: this is sam

medstar in washington, d.c. we understand that congressman steve scalise successfully underwent surgery at medstar. ps here as well as who we believe -- he is here as well as one of the u.s. capitol police officers feared we saw a capitol police officer leaving here that looked to have personal belongings with them. after this situation, a helicopter brought the which isan to medstar the main from a hospital in d.c. according to the majority leader, mccarthy, the --gressman -- the whip underwent successful surgery. we have not heard from the hospital feared

we understand he has done well. we have seen a number of capitol police officers which -- we saw in alexandria police officer coming here. we are watching activity in what is a busy medical facility at the washington hospital center. ems, ifdc fire and because of this activity, whether they diverted ambulances and he said no, business as usual, they can handle it because there is a lot of traffic here. they congressman from what we understand successfully underwent surgery after being shot in the hip. and presumably a capitol police officer here but we do not want -- know what to say about him at this point. reporting live, sam ford. >> let me paint a picture of what happened after the shooting.

scalise was playing second base and he dropped when he was shot on the dirt. during the shooting with a lot of bullets from all the representatives and eyewitnesses, shells going all over the place. he was not a good shot but spraying the ball field down, hitting cars in the parking lot to some dugouts. steve scalise drag himself into the outfield, away from the third-base dugout where the shooter was positioned. crawled to the outfield to gain more district -- distance and was losing more blood. when the shooting stopped, senator jeff point from -- and an ohio representative brad wenstrup who was a colonel -- is a colonel in the army reserve and a doctor with field training. he got to steve scalise quickly and they administered first aid. a medevac helicopter landed and took him to the hospital.

they got first aid to him quickly and you had a doctor administering first base. thingoks saw the whole play out and they talk to him shortly after the scene cleared. >> the shooter started circling around third-base. this is my understanding. i am on the grounds helping a guy who has a bullet hole in his leg. the shooter comes around home plate towards us outside the fence line. my understanding is that is where our security detail, maybe ones that were wounded, still defending us, took him down. point, once we got the all clear that the shooter was down, we ran to second base where steve scalise

into the outfield and left a trail of blood. isyou heard steve scalise out of surgery and hopefully will be just fine. five people shot. steve scalise and the two officers who responded. the neighbors said they could hear both sounds from different guns, pistols and rifles, they said it went on for 10 minutes. a lobbyist who helped organized this game was also shot. and a staffer for representative williamson -- williams from texas, one of his staffers was also shot. we are trying to get conditions. it is a fluid condition. the one thing everybody wants to know immediately is who was this guy and what was his motivation ? he is james t. hodgkinson, 66 years old from iin

the area for a couple of months. lisa fletcher has been working on that and joins us live. presumably of, the gunshot wounds when police returned fire. from belleville, illinois and only home inspection business called jth services for his business line that license expired in november of last year and was not renewed. his facebook page shows he was not a fan of donald trump, in one post he says donald trump is a traitor and has destroyed our democracy, time to destroy trump and company. he fortify his position against donald trump and promoted the investigation of the president and his support of bernie sanders. we are uncovering more about the shooter. as we find it, we will bring it to you. >> thank you. let me talk about the capitol police. these two officers were with steve scalise

minority whip. they were out in the parking lot, in an suv, the immediately engaged the shooter once the shooting started. they have pistol and this guy had a long rifle so they brady disadvantage. -- so they were at a disadvantage. congressman say one of the officers was hit in the ankle and despite that, continue to engage the shooter. the shooter was probably 50, 60 yards away, the distance between them. with a pistol they shot him in the chest. 60 yard shot with a pistol is a hell of a shot. both of the state police officers -- the capitol police officers did an amazing job. you had other representatives that said, if not for the security detail, rand paul said that, if not for them, this would have been a turkey shoot. senator paul:

i can tell you that i think with absolute certainty, nobody would have survived without the capitol hill police who say everybody's life. incredibly brave and deserve everyone's praise because, who knows what -- how heavily armed he was. nobody else had a weapon and he was killing everyone -- he would have. democrats across town were practicing. as soon as word of what happened went out, the media be locked down the ballpark and escorted them out. security at the capital was intensified because all they knew was there was an attack against a congressman practicing for a game to raise money for charity and assumed it may be a coordinated attack against members of congress. we pick up that side of the coverage. what are you

>> i want to emphasize the fact that there is always a police presence outside the u.s. capitol but yes, the presence was much heavier than usual. when we arrived we saw officers at the very interest is -- various interest -- entrances and some with large weapons. this was especially evident at the east entrance of the capital were many tour groups gather with the help of interfacing with the congressman or women from their state. aat is where we ran into representative from pennsylvania who was supposed to be at the baseball game this morning but missed his ride by two minutes. iswhat i am thinking about the video i see of steve getting carted into the ambulance. thinking about his family and his wife. >>

>> tough day for a lot of people. >> after we spoke with him, we ran into a school group, a youth group from louisiana, they were scheduled to meet with representatives scalise this afternoon for a tour which will obviously not happen. >> left him to get in louisiana because he is so huge. inlove him to death louisiana because he is so huge. upset no tour but we are just glad to be here. other youth group making plans and hoping for the best for their congressman. reporting live, kellye lynn, abc 7 news. >> let's talk about the baseball game. this has been going on for years , a bipartisan game between democrats and republicans.

and senate and say this is a chance for them to get to know each other and each other face-to-face and a fun environment. and they raise a lot of money for charity. so far this year they have raised $650,000 for the boys and girls club and other charities in the d.c. area that deal with children who are underprivileged. this is a win-win for everybody. they had been here for years practicing and never had anything like this or a threat like this. today, the circumstances played out differently,; 07, things changed -- 7:07, things changed. when we come back, the latest on the conditions of the victims that were russ to the hospital, we will find out how they are doing when we come back. >> initially, i heard one or two police trucks and living in a busy neighborhood on a busy street, you think nothing of it.

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>> you are watching abc 7 news at noon, on your side. [applause] i know we want to give our thanks to the first responders and to the alexandria police department who were on the scene of minutes. i know this house wants to say unequivocally that we are as ever awed by the tremendous bravery of the capitol police. [applause] [applause]

paul ryan: i spoke with special agent bailey and another special agent this morning, one was being treated and one was about to go into surgery. i expressed our found gratitude to them -- our profound gratitude to them. based on eyewitness accounts, without these heroes come agent bailey and agent greiner, many lives would have been lost. [applause] paul ryan: we all want to learn as much as we can about what happened. we all got a briefing from the sergeant at arms. i have confidence in the investigation being conducted by the capitol police,

are working with local law enforcement. we want to extend our gratitude for the outpouring of support we have received from throughout the capital and from throughout the country. knowing steve scalise as we all do come he is likely really frustrated that he will not be able to play in the baseball game. steve wants us to commend the bravery of those who came to help the wounded. in the coming days, we will hear their stories and have a chance to hold up their heroism. are so manys, there memories from this day that we want to forget. so many images that we will not want to see again. there was one image that this house should keep. that is a picture i saw this morning of our democratic colleagues gathered in prayer after hearing the news. every day we come here to test and

we feel so deeply about the things we fight for and we believe in that at times our emotions can get the best of us. we are all not perfect. but we do not shed our humanity when we enter this chamber. for all of the noise we are one family. these were our brothers and sisters in the line of fire. these were our brothers and sisters that ran into danger and saved countless lives. before this house returns to business, let's slow down and reflect. to think about how we are being tested right now. because we are being tested. each of you to join me to resolve and come together, to lift each other up and show the country, the

one house, the house of the people, united in our humanity. it is that humanity which will win the day and always will. god bless. i yield. [applause] [applause] recognize the gentlelady from california. making was paul ryan comments in the aftermath of the shooting, talking about how there needs to be healing and coming together, this is by going on since before and after the election where both sides

hyperbole and anger and animosity. let's listen to nancy pelosi and her comments. those werei: beautiful remarks, mr. speaker, thank you for the sentiments they represent, thank you so much. [applause] we are not one caucus or the other in this house today. we speak for each other in saying that we send our thoughts and prayers to our colleague, steve scalise. personally, we have an italian-american connection and when i heard his name i was filled with concern as i would be for anyone here. but we have a special connection and our hopes and prayers, i said to

every five minutes how he is coming along. and also for zack barth in roger williams office and a former staffer. and as the speaker said, crystal greiner and david bailey. acknowledging their sacrifice thatow fortunate we were they were on scene because more lives would have been lost. let's remember that every single day, the capitol police protect us of us and takes risks for and while a day like this we can focus on it so sadly, it does not mean other days are not as challenging. to theto call attention take of john gibson and officer jacob chestnut, 19 years ago, 1988 come in july, lost their

not just members of congress but the staff, the press, and our visitors, people who come to see this capital, this great edifice to democracy known throughout the world. they are protecting a great deal. it is an attraction which makes it all the more risky. you may not know this, my colleagues, every time i pray, very frequently and every sunday certainly, i pray for all of you. all of you, together. in earlier years, i pray for your happiness and the fact that we would be working together. d the words of president kennedy and the closing of his inaugural address when he said, god's work must truly be our own. how do we

is for us and how do we come together to give confidence to the american people that our founders intended, we will have our disagreements and debate them, and have confidence in our debates and humility to listen to others. in more recent years, i have been praying not only for that but for our safety. anyone anyone -- above have been the target of political target and therefore the target of more threats than anyone, perhaps other than the president. i pray for barack obama and i continue to pray for him and i pray for donald trump, that his presidency will be successful and that his family will be safe. it is about family. we are called for a purpose to this body. it is a great

us to serve and recognize that in others. that you haveize your constituents and we have ours, and we respect you and your constituents who sent you here. all worthy of respect. but we have our differences. , my prayer is to resolve our differences in a way that furthers the preamble to the constitution and takes us closer to e pluribus unum. it is in the family. it is an injury in the family for the staff, and for our calling, and for his leadership. as i mentioned, sports are a wonderful thing in our country, one of the most uni

plays, sports bring us together in our cities. people have the biggest differences of opinion on politics and yet when their team is on the field, people come together. when this team was on the field practicing with such camaraderie and brotherhood, i do not know if you have on your team. we have two on our team. for this person to take this action, it is so cowardly, so cowardly. , particularly -- death of courses had but particularly sad that at a time when people want us to come