{"id":28475,"date":"2017-06-15T05:45:42","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T09:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=28475"},"modified":"2017-06-14T18:10:58","modified_gmt":"2017-06-14T22:10:58","slug":"gunman-attacks-republican-congressmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2017\/06\/gunman-attacks-republican-congressmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Gunman attacks Republican congressmen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Seventeen Republican congressmen, two senators, and various staffers, family members, and friends (26 in all) were practicing in an Alexandria park for the annual congressional baseball game. \u00a0(After the jump, see the complete list of who was there.)<\/p>\n

A man approached, asking a departing lawmaker if the group were Democrats or Republicans. \u00a0He then went to the ball field, took out a rifle, and started shooting.<\/p>\n

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) was critically injured. \u00a0So was lobbyist Matt Mika. \u00a0Also wounded were\u00a0Zachary Barth, a staffer for Rep. Roger Williams, and two Capitol Police officers,\u00a0David Bailey and Krystal Griner.<\/p>\n

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Though wounded, the officers\u2013who were only there because Rep. Scalise as a House leader had a security detail\u2013shot and killed the gunman. \u00a0If it weren\u2019t for them, said Sen. Rand Paul who was on the field,<\/a> it would have been a \u201cmassacre.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shooter was James T. Hodgkinson, 66, from Belleville, Illinois, was a liberal activist who posted on his FaceBook account, \u201cIt\u2019s time to destroy Trump and company.\u201d Details, including his various affiliations, can be found at Smoking Gun.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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Photo by \u00a0Zennie Abraham, \u00a0Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Flickr,\u00a0Creative Commons License<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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From\u00a0Lawmaker Steve Scalise critically injured in GOP baseball shooting; gunman James T. Hodgkinson dies in custody \u2013 The Washington Post<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

A man unleashed a barrage of gunfire Wednesday at a park in Alexandria, Va., as Republican members of Congress held a morning baseball practice, wounding five people, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (La.).<\/p>\n

President Trump said the gunman \u2014 identified by multiple law enforcement officials as James T. Hodgkinson III, 66, from Illinois \u2014 died after a shootout with police officers, two of whom were wounded in the gun battle.<\/p>\n

Scalise remained in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon, according to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where he and another victim were being treated.<\/p>\n

The wounded also include a congressional aide, lobbyist and the two Capitol Police officers.<\/p>\n

As people offered prayers for the victims, a profile began to emerge of Hodgkinson, a onetime home inspector. A Facebook page believed to be his includes pictures of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and rhetoric against President Trump, including a post that reads: \u201cTrump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It\u2019s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[Keep reading. . .]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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From ABC:<\/a><\/h3>\n

Present during the shooting<\/h3>\n