An aide to U.S. Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), Zack Barth, suffered a minor injury when a gunman opened fire on a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, Wednesday, injuring four.
The gunman, identified as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson, of Illinois, began shooting and walked to the center of the field as he reloaded and kept firing, according to witness reports. Hodgkinson was fatally wounded in a shootout with Capitol Police and died at an area hospital.
Williams, who appeared on crutches during a news conference Wednesday afternoon, was hospitalized with an ankle injury sustained while taking cover.
"I was on the third base side hitting ground balls ... I went around the first base side to hit Congressman Scalise ground balls. The first one I hit him, the shots went off," recalled Williams during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. "I heard the first shot I wasnt sure I thought maybe it was a backfiring of a car and everybody yelled, 'He's got a gun run for cover ... just emotions take over and the first base dugout is in the ground about 7 feet and I literally dove into that dugout. It was like, I guess, diving into a swimming pool with no water."
[[428404213,C]]
Williams said he wasn't in the dugout long before Barth came rushing in, also looking for cover.
"Zack Barth, who works for me, was shot while he was retrieving balls in the outfield. When I got into the dugout it wasnt 10 seconds [before] Zack had come running into the dugout and he literally -- we landed in each other's arms," Williams said. "He held me, I held him. Jeff Flake took his belt off and made a tourniquet around Zack's leg to stop the bleeding."
He said Barth "is receiving medical attention but is doing well and is expected to make a full recovery" after being shot in the calf.
[[428525403,C]]
In Weatherford, where Williams has a home and a car dealership managed by his wife and daughters, a Parker County Sheriff's Deputy was posted outside as a security precaution at the request of the Congressman's Washington office.
The others injured included House Majority Whip Steven Scalise, who was shot in the hip and underwent surgery Wednesday; Matt Mika, director of government relations for Tysons Foods, who is in critical condition after being shot twice in the chest; Capitol Police Special Agent Crystal Griner, who was shot in the ankle; and Zack Barth, an aide to Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, who was shot in the calf.
Please keep the member of my staff and all members of the congressional baseball team in your thoughts and prayers pic.twitter.com/wH4b6wXQhs
— Rep. Roger Williams (@RepRWilliams) June 14, 2017
Capitol Police Special Agent David Bailey suffered a minor injury and was treated and released.
Three other Texas Congressmen taking part in the practice, Reps. Joe Barton (Arlington), Kevin Brady (Near Houston) and Mike Conaway (Midland), were at the practice during the shooting and were not injured.
Barton said Wednesday that dozens, "if not hundreds" of shots were fired during the shooting, which lasted five to 10 minutes.
"It was scary," he said. "I just want to thank the security detail because they saved our lives."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Witnesses described hearing Scalise "screaming for help" after the gunman shot his security detail. He was helped by other members of Congress, including Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio.
“Scalise was on second base, and was crawling out, leaving trail of blood,” said Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., in an interview on CNN.
Scalise, who was shot in the hip, had surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the hospital said. Though he is now listed in critical condition, he was in "good spirits" earlier, and spoke to his wife by phone, according to a statement from his office.
TCU baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle told NBC 5 Williams, who pitched for the Frogs from 1968-1971 and has the team's baseball field named for him, has coached the congressional team since joining Congress in 2013.
"He helped build this stadium and we're eternally grateful ... he's continued to really help the program," Schlossnagle said.
Schlossnagle said he spoke with former Horned Frogs pitcher Andrew Mitchell, who was "right in the middle" of the shooting along with Williams, and said he saw "a guy standing behind the dugout just trying to pick people off."
"We sent thoughts and players, prayers to them throughout the day and so glad that for the most part everybody just came out pretty safe," Schlossnagle said.
Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas), who was practicing with the Democrats Wednesday morning, told NBC 5 how they learned about the shooting.
“The coach calls us in, and I was like, 'Why is he calling us in? Everybody had not had a rotation yet. Everybody hadn’t had a chance to do BP.' When he called us in and told us, I was shocked. Totally speechless. It was very quiet and after Coach Doyle, Mike Doyle from Pennsylvania, a Democrat who is the manager of the team, when he got done talking and they told us that Whip Scalise had been shot, it was like we just could not believe it. Little anxiety sitting there on the field waiting until we could safely move. The Capitol Police wanted to make sure the perimeter was secure before we did move. We were, 'OK, obviously what we faced today was nothing like unfortunately what the Republicans faced this morning in Alexandria,' and my prayers go out to all of the Republicans that were there this morning -- the staffers and everybody else that was affected."
NBC 5's Julie Fine and Kevin Cokely contributed to this report.
