WASHINGTON — Nine days after the shooting that doctors admit nearly took his life, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) is out of the intensive care unit today and on the road to recovery.
Scalise was gravely wounded in the June 14 attack on an early-morning Republican baseball practice in Alexandria, Va.
Dr. Jack Sava, director of trauma at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, told reporters last Friday that Scalise suffered “a single wound from a rifle, entering in the area of his left hip.”
“The bullet traveled straight across toward the other hip, in what we call a transpelvic gunshot wound. The round fragmented, and caused significant damage to bones, internal organs and blood vessels. I understand he was awake initially, but due to severe bleeding, by the time he arrived at MedSTAR by helicopter, he was in shock,” Sava said, noting that the congressman “received many units of blood transfusion for ongoing hemorrhage from multiple locations.”
By Wednesday, a week after the shooting, Scalise had been upgraded to fair condition and the hospital said he was “beginning an extended period of healing and rehabilitation.”
On Thursday, he was moved out of the ICU, the hospital said today.
“He remains in fair condition as he continues an extended period of healing and rehabilitation,” MedStar added in a statement.
Tyson Foods lobbyist Matt Mika, who was in critical condition after being shot multiple times in the chest, is now in good condition and got a Major League visitor:
Thank you to Jayson Werth for stopping by to visit Matt Mika, who was injured in last week’s congressional baseball incident. @Nationals pic.twitter.com/yd8hnHSTad
— GWHospital (@GWHospital) June 23, 2017
After Special Agent David Bailey threw out the first pitch at the Congressional Baseball Game, Capitol Police Special Agent Crystal Griner, recovering from a bullet wound in the ankle, got a pass from the hospital this week to throw out the first pitch at the Congressional Women’s Softball Game:
Crystal Griner, US Capitol officer injured in shooting attack, threw the 1st pitch at the Congressional Women’s Softball Game – @frankthorp pic.twitter.com/y11aaFqh7C
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) June 22, 2017
Alexandria Police also released the names of three of their officers who responded to the ball field with two minutes of the first call about the shooting and participated in the gunbattle: Officers Nicole Battaglia, Kevin Jobe and Alexander Jensen.
The shooter focused his attention on Battaglia after she arrived in her patrol car, opening fire and pinning her behind a vehicle — enough of a distraction for other officers to move into place against James Hodgkinson. He was killed four minutes and 38 seconds after the initial city dispatch.
“In March 2017, Hodgkinson, of Belleville, Illinois, told a family member that he was traveling to Washington D.C., but he did not provide any additional information on his travel. FBI analysis of Hodgkinson’s computers showed a Google search of truck stops, maps, and toll-free routes to the Northern Virginia area. Prior to his travel, local law enforcement in Belleville had been called to Hodgkinson’s residence due to complaints of target practice he was conducting on his property. Local law enforcement requested he keep the noise down but determined Hodgkinson was not in violation of any local laws. Hodgkinson’s prior criminal record includes a charge of domestic battery in 2006,” the FBI said Wednesday in an update on the investigation.
The shooter was living in his car and approached the ball field that morning with a 7.62mm caliber SKS rifle, purchased in 2003, and a 9mm handgun, purchased last year, in a holster. “The SKS rifle was modified to accept a detachable magazine and the original stock was replaced with a folding stock,” the Bureau said.
“Items found on Hodgkinson included a piece of paper that contained the names of six members of Congress. No context was included on this paper, however, a review of Hodgkinson’s web searches in the months prior to the shooting revealed only a cursory search of two of those members of Congress. A second document with a rough sketch of several streets in Washington, D.C. was found on Hodgkinson; however, it was not deemed to be of investigative significance.”
Various photos and videos of D.C. landmarks were found on Hodgkinson’s phone, but the FBI has not determined they were attack surveillance. “Analysis of the electronic media items recovered from Hodgkinson’s belongings assessed that Hodgkinson did not place any online posts of threats or references to members of Congress or the Congressional baseball game,” the FBI said. “Hodgkinson made numerous posts on all of his social media accounts espousing anti-Republican views, although all the posts reviewed thus far appear to be First Amendment-protected speech.”
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