Top US Republican policitian shot in Virginia

[Sarah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40275055

A US Republican politician and aides have been shot during baseball practice in Virginia, US reports say.

Police in the upmarket Washington DC suburb of Alexandria said they were investigating a "multiple shooting" and a suspect was in custody.

US media said House of Representatives Majority Whip Steve Scalise and aides had been hit by gunfire.

Police tweeted they were "investigating multiple shooting 400 block E Monroe St. Suspect believed in custody."

An apparent eyewitness said on Twitter that gunfire rang out at the YMCA baseball fields, by the Eugene Simpson Stadium Park.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I've never heard of him but his stances on social issues leave much to be desired:

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Steve_Scalise.htm

 

[Alexis]

I misread the title as Top US Republican Politician Shot In Vagina.

 

[Sarah]

I misread the title as Top US Republican Politician Shot In Vagina.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

It was supposedly an intended massacre at a Republican congressional softball game.

It's already being spun as "hatred from the left" from the FOX-esque outlets and their followers.

Which will undoubtedly create a backlash sympathy wave for the Republicans at this most interesting point in time.

Now, if I were a conspiracy theorist.....

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R) of South Carolina claims he was asked if the game was made up of "Republicans and Democrats" prior to the shooting.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/james-hodgkinson-shooting-suspect-congressional-150150853.html

Police have named James T. Hodgkinson as the suspect in Wednesday morning’s Congressional Baseball Game practice shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, that saw House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, two Capitol Hill police officers, a congressional staffer and the accused shooter injured in a mass shooting, according to media reports.Initial reports from witnesses and congressmen who were at the practice indicated that the shooter fired off as many as 50 rounds, a total that has not been confirmed by police, and that the shooter had lots of ammo fire. Hodgkinson is reportedly a home inspector from Illinois, The Washington Post reported.

Hodgkinson reportedly died from his injury, according to a report by The Daily Caller that was later confirmed by President Donald Trump during his press conference on the shooting just before noon Wednesday.

James Hodgkinson, 66, is from Belleville, where he owns a home inspection business. He was charged with battery in April 2006 and aiding to damage a motor vehicle, according to the Post, but the charges were dismissed." Hodgkinson, 66, is from Belleville, where he owns a home inspection business. He was charged with battery in April 2006 and aiding to damage a motor vehicle, according to the Post, but the charges were dismissed.

A friend of Hodgkinson’s, Charles Orear, told the Post he met Hodgkinson in Iowa while they were helping to campaign for then-Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Orear described Hodgkinson as a “quiet guy.”

A LinkedIn page for one user with the same name and with a home inspecting business dating back to March 1976 shows that Hodgkinson also had an interest in Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who ran for president last year.

Alexandria police confirmed the number of people shot during the incident and said Scalise and the four others injured were taken for medical treatment, Chief Michael Brown said during a press conference earlier in the morning. Brown also said that police were on the scene within three minutes and that two officers engaged the shooter in gunfire.

Brown said during a later press conference that the FBI and Capitol Police would be taking over the investigation into the shooting because of Scalise’s stature as a top federal employee.

Before police announced the shooter’s name, a witness to the shooting stated the suspect was a white, middle-aged male with white hair and a beard who was carrying an assault rifle, NBC4 North Virginia reported.

Scalise, 51, was reportedly shot in the hip but is in stable condition, while the suspect was also hit and taken into custody. The Louisiana congressman was transported to MedStar Washington Hospital Center and was in stable condition before undergoing surgery, Scalise’s office said in a statement released shortly after the shooting.

Representative Roger Williams (R-Texas) said in a statement that a member of his staff was shot and is receiving medical attention. The status and identities of the two Capitol Hill officers are not yet known.

Staffer Zachary Barth identified himself on his Facebook page later in the morning, saying he was in the hospital and was “okay.”

The shooting began at 7:09 a.m. EST at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park while GOP members were practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, held since 1909 and scheduled to take place Thursday.

Republican congressmen who were at the practice, including Representative Mo Brooks and Senators Jeff Flake and Rand Paul, described the shooting events to members of the media shortly afterward. Brooks said he applied pressure and made a tourniquet for Scalise by using his belt to stop the bleeding.

Paul, who is also a doctor, told MSNBC that because Scalise is a high-ranking member of the congressional leadership, his assigned security detail and the presence of Capitol Police likely saved the lives of others at the practice. Paul and others have said they heard as many as 50 or more shots.

Flake told CBS News that two members of Scalise’s security detail were hit, one woman and one male officer, who was returning fire.

President Trump tweeted that Scalise is “a true friend and patriot, was badly injured but will fully recover,” while offering his thoughts and prayers.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Well, the "righties" are having the expected field day with this (the shooter was allegedly a Sanders supporter) as in this interview with Newt Gingrich today, blaming the violence on the political left's rhetoric.

He apparently ignored all of Trump's campaign calls for violence and his inviting Hillary's assassination twice.

 

[Frank Underwood]

It's interesting how Alex Jones and his ilk refer to every domestic shooting as a "false flag," unless the shooter supported a progressive politician. A political consultant named Harlan Hill said Bernie's description of Trump as "dangerous" is "A passive justification for the kind of violence we saw." You have to be an incredibly disingenuous hack to make the leap from calling a politician dangerous to giving consent for violence.

Sanders condemned the shooter and expressed his commitment to nonviolence, but it's ridiculous that he has to defend himself at all. While Sanders vehemently opposes Trump's agenda, he only supports a peaceful revolution consisting of grassroots activism. He has never been an advocate of violence, and this campaign worker obviously missed that part of his message. All this does is embolden the right to condemn the left.

Gabrielle Giffords was shot after Sarah Palin put her in crosshairs on a map of legislators that voted for Obamacare. It was followed up with the infamous "Don't retreat, reload!" And, of course, Trump advocated violence against protesters at his rallies and even against Hillary Clinton with his line about "second amendment people." Civilian deaths in the Middle East have also increased under Trump, which the right never complains about.

This is just pure projection on the part of right wingers. That's not to say that misguided progressives aren't capable of violence, but they're sure as hell not being persuaded to do so by Bernie Sanders.

 

[KayLloyd]

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. It is sad that it took this wake up call to get Congress to come together and get the country working again.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/gop-rep-...y-responsible-demons-unleashed-134425698.html

GOP Rep. Sanford on Va. shooting: Trump partially responsible ‘for the demons that have been unleashed’

President Trump’s rhetoric is “partially” to blame ratcheting up political tensions in the U.S., Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., said Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” connecting the commander in chief to Wednesday’s shooting at a GOP baseball practice in Northern Virginia.

“The president is at least partially — again, not any way totally, but partially — to blame for demons that have been unleashed,” Sanford said, noting that although Trump was not responsible for the shooting, his coarse rhetoric and encouragement of violence have fostered aggression and a lack of civility in the heated political climate.

“If you let these forces play out, I think we end up at a very, very bad spot,” Sanford said. “What happened yesterday was symptomatic of it.”

At Wednesday’s shooting, a gunman fired on members of Congress practicing for a baseball game, injuring five, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., the No. 3 House Republican, who remains in critical condition. The gunman, James T. Hodgkinson, died from his injuries after a shootout with police.

Sanford pointed to one of Trump’s comments at a 2016 campaign rally, in which he had encouraged the crowd to “knock the crap” out of protesters.

“The fact that you know, you’ve got the top guy saying, ‘Well, I wish I could hit you in the face and if not, why don’t you, and I’ll pay your legal fees,’” Sanford said. “That’s bizarre; we ought to call it as such.”

The congressman also referred to a recent town hall at a senior center, during which attendees exchanged profane remarks.

“Some of these people have been frankly weird and different,” Sanford said. “They’ll say, ‘Look, if the guy at the top can say anything to anybody at any time, why can’t I?’”

Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a longtime Trump ally, took time Thursday to reflect on the role that political rhetoric can play in inciting violence. Following the shooting, Collins initially put the blame on Democrats. Hodgkinson’s apparent social media posts frequently lambasted the GOP, and at least one congressman at the baseball shooting said that he believes the shooter asked him before the rampage if people on the field were Democrats or Republicans." data-reactid="33">Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a longtime Trump ally, took time Thursday to reflect on the role that political rhetoric can play in inciting violence. Following the shooting, Collins initially put the blame on Democrats. Hodgkinson’s apparent social media posts frequently lambasted the GOP, and at least one congressman at the baseball shooting said that he believes the shooter asked him before the rampage if people on the field were Democrats or Republicans.

“I did lash out. … After, you know, the emotion of that instance wore off, an hour or two later, I looked in the mirror and said, ‘That’s not the right tone,’” Collins said on CNN’s “New Day,” adding, “I’m willing to admit that was wrong for me to say, that would actually be going in the wrong direction, and I myself am gonna try to tone down some of my rhetoric.”

Collins also criticized Trump for blasting a Washington Post report of a possible obstruction of justice investigation into Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey. “I would have certainly not advised that that tweet go out today because we’re still very much reacting to yesterday’s shooting,” Collins said on “New Day.”

Sanford, who called for more bipartisanship in caucuses and legislation, expressed concern that people won’t take a step back and learn from the shooting.

“[We need] to say, ‘Wait a minute, this is a pause moment. What might I do a little bit differently in the way that I reach out to other members [of Congress]?” Sanford said.