“They are the real heroes, they shot back and saved us despite both of them being shot, had it not been for them, we a massacre and we probably would have all died,” said, Rand Paul.
ABC Reports: The three Capitol Police officers who were injured have been identified as David Bailey, Henry Cabrera and Krystal Griner, according to House Speaker Paul Ryan.Special Agent Crystal Griner was shot in the ankle and is in good condition, Capitol Police. Special Agent David Bailey suffered a minor injury during the incident and was treated and released from the hospital.
Special Agent Henry Cabrera was also at the baseball field Wednesday morning but was not injured.
“I spoke with special agent Bailey and special agent Griner this morning. One was being treated and one was about to go into surgery,” Ryan said. “It is clear to me based on various eyewitness accounts that without these two heroes, Agent Bailey and Agent Griner, many lives would have been lost.”
Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, told CNN, “I was on deck about to hit batting practice on the third base side and I hear, ‘Bam.’ And I look around and behind third base … I see a rifle. and I see a little bit of a body.
“At the same time I hear Steve Scalise over near second base scream,” Brooks added. “He was shot.”
Brooks said he took off his belt and he and another congressman applied a tourniquet to try to slow the bleeding.
Brooks said a security detail returned fire at the active shooter. Brooks estimated that 50 to 100 shots were fired.
At least 21 members of Congress were at this morning’s baseball practice, including Scalise and two U.S. senators. Staffers and family members were also there; Rep. Joe Barton, R-Tex., said his two sons were in attendance, including his 11-year-old son. All members of the GOP baseball team have been accounted for.
Barton said in a statement, “The suspect was shooting at members and staff on the field. Officers of the Capitol Police returned fire and ran toward the shooter, risking their lives while saving others. The incident lasted for approximately 10 minutes.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, told ABC News he was in the batting cage when he heard an isolated gunshot.
Then “a burst of gunfire” erupted, Paul said. “At that point, people were dropping. Scalise was shot around second base and he crawled a little bit into the outfield,” he explained.
Paul said Scalise’s security detail exchanged fire with the active shooter.
“These guys were real heroes and I think without them everybody probably would have been killed,” Paul said. “Steve Scalise is in leadership and that’s the only reason there was security detail there at all. I’m sad that he was shot but he actually saved everybody’s life by being there.”‘
Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, an Iraq War veteran, told Fox News that once the shooting stopped he administered aid to Scalise, putting a compression on his wound.
“I felt I was back in Iraq but without my weapon,” he told Fox News.
Wenstrup said Scalise “was as brave as he could possibly be. He said, ‘I’m thirsty.’ Obviously, you don’t know how much fluid he may be losing internally.”
Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Illinois, told ABC News he saw “the bravery of the two capitol police officers that engaged the shooter that saved the lives of every single person there. … Without them there, this would have been a massacre.”
Davis said his message to the shooter is, “We are the greatest country in the history of the world. We have freedoms that many on this globe wish they would have, and you took those freedoms and tried to take lives. And you didn’t succeed, and there is a warm place in hell for you, too.”
Some other lawmakers in attendance were: Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona; Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida; and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tennessee.
At a news conference this morning, Alexandria Police Chief Mike Brown assured residents that the community is safe.
The FBI is leading the investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is conducting traces on one rifle and one handgun taken from the scene.
In an on-camera statement, Trump spoke directly to Scalise, saying, “Steve, I want you to know that you have the prayers, not only of the entire city behind you, but of an entire nation and frankly, the entire world.”
Trump added, “We may have our differences, but we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in our nation’s capital is here because above all, they love our country.”
Both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence canceled their scheduled speeches for today.
In addition to the two injured Capitol Police officers, David Bailey and Crystal Griner, two others on scene were also injured.
Zachary Barth, a legislative correspondent working for Texas Rep. Roger Williams.
The family spokesperson said a bullet went through Barth’s calf, and after he was shot, he allegedly saw the gunman aiming at him. Barth then dove for the dugout, where he grabbed a belt to wrap around his leg to stem the blood flow, the family spokesperson said.
Matt Mika, who works as a lobbyist for Tyson Foods, was also injured and is in critical condition, his family said in a statement.
A Tyson Foods spokesperson said Mika, director of government relations for its Washington, D.C., office, “has worked for Tyson Foods for more than six years and we’re deeply concerned about him and his family.”
Read more at ABC News
