House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and several others were injured in a shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, Wednesday morning. The attack happened while Scalise and other Republican lawmakers were practicing for an annual charity softball game.
The attacker was shot by police officers and taken into custody, according to Alexandria Police Chief Michael Brown. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who was at the scene of the shooting, said at least one Capitol Police officer was injured in the gunfire.
Scalise is in surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and is reported to be in stable condition. Zachary Barth, a staffer for Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX), was also shot but posted on Facebook that he is in a hospital and okay. Three other people, including the shooter, were also taken to area hospitals; two are said to be in critical condition.
The shooter has yet to be formally identified, and his motive is unknown.
Congress has canceled all business for the day.
At 11:30 am Eastern, President Donald Trump delivered a statement about the shooting from the Diplomatic Room of the White House. The statement was streamed via the White House YouTube account.
Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?
Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:
First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.
Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.
So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)
If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.
Yes, I'll give $5/month
Yes, I'll give $5/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and
Google Pay. You can also contribute via
