The Wall Street Journal - Trump: Scalise ‘In Some Trouble’ After Shooting
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June 15, 2017. Louise Radnofsky, Peter Nicholas.
House majority whip injured in ballfield attack is in critical condition following multiple surgeries.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump said that Republican Rep. Steve Scalise is “in some trouble” Thursday, a day after the House’s third-ranking congressman was shot during a practice of the Republican congressional baseball team.
In a statement at the White House, the president stepped back from his own optimistic assessments the previous day of the Louisiana lawmaker’s condition, as the extent of his injuries from the Wednesday morning baseball-field attack emerged.
Mr. Scalise, the House majority whip, was shot once in the left hip and was in critical condition after multiple surgical procedures, the Washington hospital treating him said late Wednesday.
MedStar Washington Hospital Center said the bullet caused extensive internal damage and that Mr. Scalise had undergone two surgical procedures and was expected to undergo more, and had received “multiple” units of blood transfusion.
“It’s been much more difficult than people even thought at the time,” Mr. Trump said at a White House event Thursday. “He’s going to be OK, we hope.”
On Wednesday morning, a gunman opened fire as about 22 Republican congressmen and others gathered at a baseball field in Alexandria, Va., near Washington to practice for Thursday night’s game against the Democratic team.
In addition to Mr. Scalise, a Capitol Police officer, a lobbyist and a young congressional aide were shot. Another congressman and police officer sustained minor injuries.
Officials have identified the suspected gunman as James T. Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector who had run-ins with neighbors in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis. Mr. Hodgkinson was killed by police, officials said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies said in a joint statement Thursday that they had recovered weapons at the scene including a 9mm handgun and a 7.62-caliber rifle.
Federal investigators traced the weapons and determined they were purchased from licensed firearms dealers, and found “no evidence to suggest that the purchases were not lawful,” the statement said.
The statement said the FBI was examining a cell phone, a computer, and a camera recovered from the shooter’s white van, and that the agency continues to investigate the shooter, his activities and social media impressions.
Mr. Trump, first lady Melania Trump and the White House physician visited Mr. Scalise’s bedside Wednesday night and met with Mr. Scalise’s wife Jennifer and the medical team, including a top hospital official, Ira Rabin.
White House physician Ronny Jackson, who had also cared for Mr. Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, earlier visited the hospital to learn about Mr. Scalise’s condition, the White House said.
Mr. Trump sent a tweet after leaving, saying that Mr. Scalise was “in very tough shape—but he is a fighter. Pray for Steve!”
Earlier Wednesday Mr. Trump said on Twitter that Mr. Scalise “would fully recover.”
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen visited the hospital on Thursday morning and spoke with Mr. Scalise’s family as well as with Capitol Police Special Agent Crystal Griner, a spokesman for Mr. Pence said.
Ms. Griner, who was shot in the ankle in the attack, is also recovering at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the White House said Wednesday night. Mr. Trump visited with Ms. Griner and her wife and brought them flowers, the White House said.
A congressional lobbyist for Tyson Foods Inc., Matt Mika, is being treated at The George Washington University Hospital, which said Thursday afternoon that his condition had improved from critical to serious. Congressional aide Zach Barth was shot in the leg and has been released from the hospital. On Thursday morning he made several television appearances with his boss, Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, whose ankle was injured during the attack.
“I decided if I wanted to live I needed to make a run for it so I ran down the first-base line to the dugout,” Mr. Barth told CBS News.
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