A rifle-toting US man opened fire Wednesday at about two dozen Republican lawmakers and staff holding a baseball practice ahead of a charity game, wounding a top congressman and four others.
The shooter — identified as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson, an apparent supporter of former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders — later died of his injuries, President Donald Trump announced.
Here’s what we know about the shooting:
Republican lawmakers were practicing at a baseball field in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia ahead of Thursday night’s annual charity game against their Democratic counterparts when Hodgkinson fired a volley of shots.
Republican Majority Whip Steve Scalise, the party’s number three in the House of Representatives, suffered a hip injury in the early morning ambush.
Capitol police who were on security duty returned fire, as did Alexandria police who rushed to the scene. The suspect was apprehended, and the five people wounded were taken to area hospitals.
* Scalise. He suffered a hip injury and underwent surgery at a Washington hospital. He was listed in critical condition after the operation.
* Lobbyist and former congressional staffer Matt Mika, who was reportedly in critical condition with multiple gunshots
– Who was the shooter? –
Hodgkinson, who appears to have been the owner of a home inspection business, was a strong supporter of Sanders, who challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.
Sanders said he was “sickened” by the attack.
The shooter hailed from Belleville, Illinois, though his wife told ABC News that he had been living in Alexandria for the past two months.
His brother Michael told The New York Times that “he wasn’t happy with the way things were going, the election results and stuff.”
Trump called for national unity in the wake of the shooting, as did House Speaker Paul Ryan and Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
All votes in the House of Representatives were cancelled for Wednesday.
The annual Congressional baseball game will go on as planned Thursday night at Nationals Park in the US capital.
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