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Republican Lawmakers Attend First Baseball Practice Since 2017 Shootings


FILE - Police investigate a shooting scene after a gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress during a baseball practice near Washington in Alexandria, Virginia, June 14, 2017.
FILE - Police investigate a shooting scene after a gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress during a baseball practice near Washington in Alexandria, Virginia, June 14, 2017.

Some Republican members of Congress attended baseball practice Wednesday for the first time since a gunman opened fire and wounded four people almost 11 months ago.

The team practiced on the same field in Alexandria, Virginia, just south of Washington, where the shootings occurred June 14, 2017.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was among the wounded, as were Tyson Foods lobbyist Matt Mika, Capitol Police officer Crystal Griner and Zach Barth, an aide to Congressman Roger Williams.

Scalise and Mika sustained serious injuries. Doctors said when Scalise arrived at a Washington hospital that he was at imminent risk of death.

The gunman was 66-year-old James Hodgkinson, who had been critical of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party and complained about income inequality. Hodgkinson, who hailed from the midwestern state of Illinois, was fatally shot by Capitol Police officers who were part of Scalise's security team.

Congressional baseball practices this year will be more heavily guarded by the Capitol Police. Onlookers and members of the media will also have limited access to the practices.

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