2017 congressional baseball assassination

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After the attack: training participants on their way back to the team bus

The 2017 Congressional baseball attack was an attack on a group of Republican MPs and United States Congressmen on June 14, 2017. The construction surveyor and political activist brought in during a baseball training session in Del Ray , a suburb of Alexandria, Virginia James Hodgkinson shot four people in gunshot wounds and was himself killed in gunfire with the police.

The FBI took over the investigation.

Course of events and sacrifice

Every year Washington, DC hosts the Congressional Baseball Game , a benefit baseball game between teams of Democratic and Republican congressmen. On Wednesday, June 14, 2017 from 6:30 a.m. (local time), the Republican team trained at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Alexandria for the game that was due to be played the next day. There were approximately 15-25 people in attendance, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise , Texas MPs Roger Williams and Joe Barton , Senator for Kentucky and 2016 Republican presidential nominees Rand Paul , Senator Jeff Flake (Arizona), and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (Tennessee), Brad Wenstrup (Ohio), Ron DeSantis (Florida), Jeff Duncan (South Carolina), Mo Brooks and Gary Palmer (Alabama), and Mike Bishop and Jack Bergman (Michigan) and Rodney Davis (Illinois). When DeSantis and Duncan were leaving practice around 7 a.m., a man asked them if there were Republicans or Democrats on the field. They replied that they were Republicans.

At around 7:09 a.m., the assassin opened fire on the group of people with an SKS rifle. Steve Scalise was hit in the hip and suffered life-threatening internal injuries from the wandering projectile, which required several weeks of hospitalization with multiple operations; It was not until September 28, 2017 that he appeared again in public. A congressional employee of Roger Williams and a lobbyist for food company Tyson Foods were also hit . Other people suffered minor injuries on the run. Three officers from the United States Capitol Police , who were present to protect senior Republican Scalise, engaged in an exchange of fire with the attacker; two of the police officers were injured, as was the attacker. At 7:12 am, the Alexandria police arrived and shot the perpetrator as well.

According to various eyewitness accounts, the shooting lasted 5–10, “almost 10” or “at least 10” minutes. The assassin was then arrested and died a few hours later from his injuries.

Perpetrator

The perpetrator was identified that same day as James T. Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old self-employed building surveyor from Belleville, Illinois . In November 2016, he lost his business license. Since March 2017 he lived in Alexandria. MPs Ron DeSantis and Jeff Duncan recognized Hodgkinson in a photo as the man who had asked them about the baseball players' party affiliation.

Hodgkinson is described in the media as interested in politics and progressive . He supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primaries . In letters to the editor and on Facebook , he had published critical, sometimes hateful comments on Donald Trump and the Republican Party. He wrote in March 2017: “Trump is a traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It's Time to Destroy Trump & Co. ”( Trump is a traitor. Trump has destroyed our democracy. It's time to destroy Trump & Co. ) According to research by the Daily Beast , he was a member of the Facebook groups Donald Trump is not my President (Donald Trump is not my President), Terminate the Republican Party (Dissolves the Republican Party) and The Road To Hell Is Paved With Republicans (The road to Hell is paved with Republicans).

Reactions and consequences

In an initial statement, President Donald Trump said: “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go with members of Congress, their staff, the Capitol Police, first responders and everyone else affected. ”On the evening of June 14th, he visited Steve Scalise, who was in critical condition, in the hospital.

Bernie Sanders emphatically distanced himself from all forms of violence and condemned the act in the strongest possible terms ( “I am sickened by this despicable act. Let me be as clear as I can be, violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. " )

The police officers of the Capitol Police were celebrated as heroes after their service. According to several MPs, they had saved their lives. Rand Paul and Rodney Davis independently stated that the officers prevented a "massacre".

Those responsible in the US Congress decided that the Congressional Baseball Game should take place on June 15th as planned. Sales of a record 25,000 tickets raised approximately $ 1 million for charity. The Democrats won the game 11-2.

Scalise largely recovered from the aftermath of the attack through several months of medical rehabilitation and returned to work in Congress on September 28, 2017. He called on his first day in office, the police Bailey as "his hero" and "lifesaver" and thanked the doctors for "a second chance to live" and the Republican Brad Wenstrup, who as war physician in Iraq , the Bronze Star Medal received for his life-saving work in the assassination attempt. Scalise wanted to continue rehabilitation while he was at the Capitol, his spokesman said.

Web links

Commons : 2017 Congressional Baseball Assassination  - Image, Video, and Audio File Collection

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Gunman dead after attacking congressmen at Virginia baseball field . BBC, June 14, 2017.
  2. ^ What is the Congressional Baseball Game? , The Washington Post, June 14, 2017.
  3. ↑ www.congressionalbaseball.org
  4. ↑ a b c How the harrowing shooting at a GOP congressional baseball practice in Virginia unfolded , ABC News, June 14, 2017.
  5. ↑ a b c Scalise critical, shooter ID'd as James Hodgkinson , Fox News, June 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Rep. Gary Palmer: We 'should've realized' that congregating en masse 'made us a target' , The Week, June 14, 2017.
  7. ^ A b Rep. Rodney Davis: “This Would Have Been A Massacre” If Not For Capitol Police , CBS Chicago, June 14, 2017.
  8. ↑ a b Rep. DeSantis: Shooting Suspect Asked if 'Republicans or Democrats' on Field , NBCNEWS, June 14, 2017.
  9. ↑ Jose Pagliery: "Suspect in congressional shooting was Bernie Sanders supporter, strongly anti-Trump" CNN.com June 15, 2017
  10. ↑ Rep. Scalise update, Type of Gunshot Injury and Critical General Condition, LA Times, June 14, 2017, accessed June 15, 2017 [1]
  11. ↑ Scalise was in 'imminent risk of death' when he arrived at hospital, surgeon says . Justin Wm. Moyer, Washington Post , June 16, 2017
  12. ^ Congressman Palmer releases statement after congressional shooting Wednesday , Hoover Sun, June 14, 2017.
  13. ↑ Members Describe Shooting: Baseball Field Became 'Killing Field' - See more at: http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/witnesses-shooting-republican-baseball-practice#sthash.lMbVZS2y.dpuf , Roll Call, June 14, 2017.
  14. ↑ Alexandria shooting heroes credited with preventing massacre , CBS, June 15, 2017.
  15. ↑ a b Alexandria shooting: GOP's Steve Scalise among 5 wounded , CBS / AP, June 14, 2017.
  16. ↑ Alexandria police chief says 5 transported with injuries , The Washington Post, June 14, 2017.
  17. ↑ Reported GOP Baseball Shooter Once Volunteered on Bernie Sanders' Campaign: Report , The Root, June 14, 2017.
  18. ↑ a b GOP Rep. Steve Scalise is in critical condition after shooting; assailant has died , CNBC, June 14, 2017.
  19. ^ Shooter identified by law enforcement officials as James T. Hodgkinson , Washington Post, June 14, 2017.
  20. ↑ FBI: Suspect had been living in Alexandria area since March , The Washington Post, June 14, 2017.
  21. ↑ Emerging portrait of shooting suspect James T. Hodgkinson: anti-Trump rhetoric on social media, repeat visits to YMCA near Virginia ballfield , Washington Post , June 14, 2017.
  22. ↑ James T. Hodgkinson: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know , Heavy.com, June 14, 2017.
  23. Jump up ↑ Congressional Shooter Loved Bernie, Hated 'Racist' Republicans, and Beat His Daughter , The Daily Beast, June 14, 2017.
  24. ↑ Trump makes hospital visit after congressional baseball shooting , CNN, June 14, 2017.
  25. ↑ Bernie Sanders Reacts To Alexandria Shooter Serving As A Campaign Volunteer , June 14, 2017.
  26. ↑ Alexandria shooting heroes credited with preventing massacre , CBS News, June 15, 2017.
  27. ↑ 'Heroic' US Capitol Police who saved Rep. Steve Scalise grew from a lone watchman two centuries ago , The Washington Post, June 15, 2017.
  28. ^ Congressional Baseball Game Will Go On After Shooting . Huffington Post, June 14, 2017, accessed June 15, 2017
  29. ^ Congressional Baseball Game is played a day after shooting , Los Angeles Times, June 16, 2017.
  30. ↑ 'Miracles really do happen': Rep. Steve Scalise returns to Congress, 15 weeks after being shot . Washington Post, September 28, 2017

Coordinates: 38 ° 49 ′ 16.9 ″  N , 77 ° 3 ′ 8 ″  W.