Shooting in Alexandria, VA.

Rep. Steve Scalise

I woke up to this breaking news but I thought I would hold off posting about it until we had more information to work with.

What we do know is that a single man open fired with an automatic or semi-automatic rifle of some kind, during practice for a charity baseball game between the Washington Republicans and Democrats.

This particular practice field was being used by the Republicans.

House Whip Steve Scalise appears to be the only Republican lawmaker wounded, he was hit in the hip, though there are at least five wounded. One of whom may in fact be the gunman.

There were no fatalities. (Update: Well the gunman died, so that makes one.)

Here is more courtesy of the New York Times: 

Officials described a scene of chaos and of players taking cover wherever they could on the field. 

Rep. Mike Bishop from Michigan said the gunman was standing outside the fence line behind third base aiming for the field’s only exit. 

"If not for the detail who stepped up with basic revolvers, we would’ve all been dead,” he said, referring to members of the security team. He said he “Army-crawled” his way to taller grass and tried to reach the dugout, but bullets were hitting the dugout as well. 

“Ting, ting, ting, ting,” he said, describing the noise. “He was hunting us at that point. There was so much gunfire, you couldn’t get up and run. Pop, pop, pop, pop — it’s a sound I’ll never forget.”

The detail that Rep. Bishop is referring to is apparently the security staff that follows House Whip Steve Scalise around.

The gunman has been described as a white man with dark hair. (Update: Here he is.)

James T. Hodgkinson Identified as Shooter in Congressional Shooting https://t.co/gYxYuVPkBw pic.twitter.com/7WJ42GXRDG

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) June 14, 2017

So of course in Trump's America that means this will not be considered a terrorist attack. (Though Hodgkinson is being described as a Bernie Sanders supporter so that still might be an option for the Right Wing news outlets.)

There are reports that the gunman asked if it were Democrats or Republicans on the field but this does seem to be accurate.

This inconsistency seems like it could be important. It's better not to believe every scrap of information as 100% true immediately. pic.twitter.com/xGsu7avFmu

— Alan Cole (@AlanMCole) June 14, 2017

There is always a lot of confusion in the aftermath of these shootings, and invariably false information gets passed around.

Democratic leaders are already condemning this cowardly attack, which is good because knowing the Republicans this is definitely going to be spun as a political act from the Left.

Too late.

Liberals lose elections. Liberal response:

Property damage. Severed heads. Stabbings. Shootings. #Alexandria #SteveScalice

— RockPrincess (@Rockprincess818) June 14, 2017

What is not false however is that the folks targeted in this shooting want every person in America to have access to a firearm.  And I guarantee that will not change as a result of this event.

P.S. It now appears that the shooter has died of his injuries.

“He probably died about an hour, maybe a little over an hour ago.” @petewilliamsnbc says of suspect James T. Hodgkinson pic.twitter.com/rfH28v7njM

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 14, 2017

Update: This seems like an appropriate tweet to share today.

Looks like trump isn't the ONLY one with tweets that age poorly.

Does Rand Paul feel the same way after the Alexandria #shooting? pic.twitter.com/i9TviVUglM

— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) June 14, 2017

Rand Paul was one of the Republicans at this baseball field when the shooting started.