IMAGE: CNS photo/Shawn Thew, EPA
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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CNS) — U.S.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana was listed in stable condition
after being shot by a gunman early June 14 and transported out of a baseball
field in Alexandria, a suburb of Washington. He was scheduled to undergo surgery.
Michael Brown, police chief for the city of Alexandria, said five people were medically transported from the scene of the
shooting to receive medical care. Multiple news
reports said two U.S. Capitol Police officers who were part of the Catholic
congressman’s protective detail also were shot, as well as an aide to Texas
Congressman Roger Williams.
Scalise, a Republican, was with
a group of House members and staff at a baseball practice to prepare for the
56th annual Congressional Baseball Game, played each summer by members of Congress.
Cardinal
Donald W. Wuerl of Washington tweeted: “Our prayers go out for @SteveScalise,
the Capitol Police and others wounded or affected by this morning’s attack.”
President Donald Trump said in a statement that he and Vice President Mike Pence were aware of the shooting incident in Virginia “and are monitoring developments
closely.”
“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy,” he said. “Our
thoughts and prayers are with members of Congress, their staffs Capitol Police,
first responders and all others affected.”
Scalise was first elected
to the U.S. House in 2008, representing Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District.
Before that, he was a member of the Louisiana House and the Louisiana Senate,
serving from 1996 to 2008.
Rep. Mike Bishop,
R-Michigan, told a Detroit radio station that Scalise was standing on second
base when he was shot.
“I was looking right at
him,” Bishop told. “He was a sitting duck.”
Scalise’s wounds are not believed
to be life-threatening. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two children and are
members of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Metairie,
Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The couple’s children attend the parish school.
Authorities said at least one suspect
was in custody and was transported to an area hospital. Schools in
the area near the shooting were immediately put on lockdown and bomb-sniffing
dogs monitored the grounds of the U.S. Capitol at mid-morning.
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