Congressman Steve Scalise Health Condition: Representative in Critical Condition; Gunman Identified

By Clarissa Partosa, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, June 15, 2017

House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise is in critical condition after being shot at a baseball practice in Virginia. Meanwhile, the gunman, who has died from officers' returned fire, has been identified.

Congressman Scalise and several other politicians attended baseball practice last Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia for an annual bipartisan charity baseball game that will be held at the Nationals Park, CNBC reported.

During practice, a gunman fired shots and ended up wounding several attendees. Scalise was one of them, who sustained a gunshot wound in the hip. He was taken to the Medstar Washington Hospital Center for surgery and is currently in critical condition.

House Speaker Paul Ryan identified that Tyson Foods lobbyist Matt Mika, Rep. Roger Williams's staffer Zack Barth, and two U.S. Capitol Police officers are among the wounded individuals from the shooting. Mika is still in critical condition, while Barth has already been released.

The two Capitol Police officers were Crystal Griner and David Bailey. Griner is still in the hospital recovering from getting shot in the ankle, while Bailey has been released after being treated for a minor injury.

The officers on the scene returned fire at the gunman, which caused his death.

The gunman was identified as James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old male resident of Belleville, Illinois.

The gunman's wife told ABC NEWS that Hodgkinson has been residing in Alexandria for the past two months, and that he was supposed to return to Illinois in a few days. As of now, there is no clear motive as to why Hodgkinson executed the shooting at the baseball practice in Virginia.

Currently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is still looking into Hodgkinson if he had any associates, what his social media impressions are, and what potential motivations he had to commit the shooting.

Anyone with information is free to call the FBI and share anything that might help their case.