Transcripts For CNNW Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20170614

Texas congressman Roger Williams who was hurt while at that baseball practice this morning. Much more coming up. Were following the breaking news. Congressional attack, a gunman targets the republican congressional baseball deem on a practice field, wuning a top House Republican and four other people before being fatally shot by police. Lawmakers praise the security detail saying officers prevented a massacre. Angry gunmen. Were learning more about the shooter who had past encounters with the law and posted antitrump rants on social media. Could anyone have seen this coming . Heightened security. Congressional votes and hearings are postponed as security is stepped up on capitol hill after the shooting. Team managers vow tomorrows baseball game between republicans and democrats will go ahead as planned, and calls for unity. President trump calls on americans to unite and Work Together, and there are stirring appeals from harmony from congressional leaders with House Speaker paul ryan saying, quote, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. Im wolf blitzer, youre in the situation room. Breaking news. Shots rang out early this morning on a baseball field in a quiet washington suburb as members of the Congressional Baseball Team practiced for their annual charity game against democrats. The third ranking House Republican, congressman Steve Scalise and four other people were wounded including a staffer, a lobbyist and two Capitol Police officers. Witnesses say the heavily armed gunman asked whether those on the field were republicans or democrats before he opened fire. Schliez was hit as he stood near second base and while lawmakers scrambled for cover, scalises Capitol Hill Police detail fired back at the gunman h. Lawmakers credit them with preventing a massacre before local police arrived. The gunman was fatally wounded. Hes identified at James Hodgkinson of bellville, illinois. His social media postings are filled with horrendous ant trump rants and senator Bernie Sanders learned that the shooter volunteered on his president ial campaign. Sanders called the shootings a despicable act. President trump issued a call for unity saying, quote, we all can agree were blessed to be americans, and added we are strongest when were united and when we Work Together for the common good. That echoed by the House Speaker paul ryan and the Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi who both made very emotional appeals for harmony. Ill talk to a witness and survivor. Republican congressman mike bishop michigan. He was there on field and our correspondents, specialists and guests, they are standing by with full coverage of the days top stories. We have more information coming in right now on the shocking attack. I want to quickly go over to cnns brian todd, i should say, over at medstar Washington Hospital center. Brian, what are you learning . Reporter wolf, tonight congressman Steve Scalise, the third ranking House Republican, is fighting for his life here at Washington Hospital center as is at least one other victim at another hospital witnesses are telling us that if congressman scalise had not had Capitol Hill Police officers with him in his security detail there would have been a massacre on that field. The gunman captured on cell phone video by an eyewitness seemingly came out of nowhere. [ gunfire ] reporter aimed at members of congress and their staffs. I hear the big blam and i thought it was a car backfiring at first until i see the rifle barrel, and a white male taking careful aim at congressmen, staffers, whoever he could get ahold of. Reporter the gunman identified by police at 66yearold James Hodgkinson appeared to be laying in wait with a long gun behind the dugout at this alexandria, virginia, ymca baseball field. On field were republican members of congress practicings for tomorrows baseball game. There were multiple shots fired. Reporter congressman rodney david was at bat just after 7 00 am. Someone yelling run. I ran into the dugout like most people on the field reporter third ranking House Republican and whip was in the infield. He dragged himself from near second base about 10 or 15 yards in the field i think to be a little further away from the gunman. He was laying motionless out there, and so i wanted to get to him, but there were still shots going overhead from both sides, and so finally when we heard that the shooter was down, i just ran low out to steve and started putting pressure on the wound. Reporter a republican staffer now identified at zack barth was also hit but he managed to find cover in a dugout. He was gutsy saying it wasnt bad at all. There was a hole in his leg. The shooter was not on field. He came around how many plate and got behind the utility shut and darted out behind from the shed hand thats when he got shot. Two Police Officers assigned to scalise because of his leadership position returned fire. I saw two of them go towards the shooter. They were putting their lives directly in the line of fire. Reporter two of his detail were shot, one africanamerican gentleman shot in the leg, and i believe hes the one who brought the shooter down. He ran around for quite a while with a leg wound, returning fire. Reporter tonight, witnesses are crediting the officers. It was the Capitol Police i assume everyone would have been killed this morning. Reporter a total of five victims were hospitalized including congressman scalise, matt mika, staffer zack barth and crystal griner and dave bailey. This is a picture ill never forget. Reporter the hail of gunfire evident in bullet holes as far away as the ymca building as well as cars parked on other side and tonight as investigators try to find a motive. Two members of congress, a consideration is being pointed they had with the shooter in a pork lot. He asked me if the team was the republican or Democrat Team practicing. I responded it was the Republican Team and he proceeded to shoot republicans. You take that for what its worth. And an update just moments ago. I corresponded with a hospital official here at Washington Hospital center who says congressman scalise remains in critical surgery and its unclear whether hell have another surgery. Weve also learned the identity second victim here being treated here and thats Capitol Hill Police officer crystal griner. She is in Good Condition, and tonight, wolf, officer griner and two other officers who returned fire an engaged that shooter, are coming in for some very heavy praise because this could have been so much worse had they not been there. Certainly deserve all that heroic praise, all that praise indeed. Also new details on the gun who posted very inflammatory rants on social media and had runins with the law in the past lets go to our Congressional Correspondent Phil Mattingly who has been looking into this. What have are you learned . Reporter disdain on social media and distraught and no secret that the hey alleged shooter had hatred for republicans and this morning the hatred went to a whole new stunning level. Tonight investigators are digging into the past of this 66yearold man, James Hodgkinson. Combing through a trove of social media posts that show he was infuriated with donald trump and republicans calling the republicans stupid and said that they hate americans and is full of smoke and mirrors and that President Trump has, quote, destroyed our democracy. p cartoon, suggested congressman Steve Scalise should be fired and three years of impassioned letters to the editor of his local paper including one that concluded ive never said that life suction, only the policies of republicans. Hodgkinsons facebook photo an image of uncle sam transposed with the face of senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders, the former democratic president ial candidate, taking to the senate flor to say that hodgkinson may have volunteered for his campaign and condemned his actions. I am sickened by this despicable act, and let me be as clear as i can be. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society, and i condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. Hodgkinson started his own Home Inspection company in 1994 only to quit the job on new years eve of last year, according to a Facebook Post. He was fired as an independent contractor from the st. Clair county Intergovernmental Grants Department for, quote, unacceptable behavior, according to the county Board Chairman mark kern. While kern wouldnt elaborate on that behavior he said hodgkinson asked for his job but he would not have been reinstated after a Public Record search revealed several runins with the law including a 2006 arrest for battery involving bodily harm and he allegedly punched a friend of his daughters in his face and fired off a gun and dragging his daughter from her house by her hair and prior her out of the cut by cutting her out of the seat belt with a pocket night. The charge was later dismiss. An atf Spokesman Says they are now tracking two guns, a rifle and handgun as part of the investigation, one in which the investigation has now taken the lead. Once it was confirmed that we had a member of congress that was involved in the incident, we have taken the lead. However, this is a joint command, and this is a joint investigation with our state and local partners to include who has been at the microphone already and alexandria county and alexandria city and Capitol Police as well. Reporter all while back home a stunned friend tried to defend a heinous act. I just want to let people know that he wasnt evil, that he was i guess tired of some of the politics that are going on. Reporter wolf, Law Enforcement sources now telling us that hodgkinson had been in this area for a up in weeks and also learning he had contacted his local congressmans office as many as ten times to register complaints about specific policies. That congressman, a republican, said that there were no red flags in these communications, pretty standard for what they heard, but this, the Facebook Postings, all of the activities of this individual over the last couple of weeks, money, perhaps even years, all subject to that Law Enforcement search right now. Wolf. You know, its interesting, phil, because clearly he was evil, and on march 22nd, as you point out, he posted this on facebook. Trump is a traitor. Trump has destroyed our democracy. Its time to destroy trump and company and then he said republicans are the taliban of the usa. When you say on a Facebook Post its time to destroy trump and company, thats a threat against the president of the United States, and thats a crime. Do we know if he was actually investigated by the secret service or other Law Enforcement . Reporter wolf, the interesting element according to the secret service he had not come on to their radar screen. They have a lot to look into, especially with social media, the threats that they get registered in the hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions given any day, week or money. We know right now he was not on their radar but clearly this is one of those issues, as they dig back through the social media postings, as they dig back through his history in general that they are paying close attention if something was missed throughout this process and if anything can be learned going forward. Threaten the president. United states with death, thats clearly a crime. Phil mattingly up on capitol hill. President trump responded to the shooting at the gop baseball practice with a very strong appeal for National Unity . Lets go to our senior White House Correspondent jim acosta. Jim, fill us in on the president s reaction. Reporter wolf, its been a quiet day over here at the white house. President trump has been checking in on congressman Steve Scalises condition and he and Vice President pence cancelled their events to keep tabs on the victims and we heard from a very different President Trump. The president did not engage in any kind of divisive rhetoric. After the shooting he sounded a unifying theme reminding americans that people serving the national here in washington are doing so because they love their country. Heres more of what he had to say. Congressman scalise is a friend and a very good friend. Hes a patriot, and hes a fighter. He will recover from this assault, and, 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. America is praying for you and america is praying for all of the victims of this terrible shooting. We may have our differences, but we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in our nations capitol is here because above all they love our country. We can all agree that we are blessed to be americans, that our children deserve to grow up in a nation of safety and peace, and that we are strongest when we are unified and when we Work Together for the common good. Now, some of the president s surrogates like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have been blaming hostile rhetoric on the left for todays shooting, but the president is not listening to those voices. He did not echo those remarks in his comments earlier. There was some talk of the president perhaps attending tomorrow nights congressional baseball game still on the schedule, but white house says thats not happening, wolf, because of security concerns. Wolf . Jim acosta, thanks very much. I want to show our viewers now some of the very dramatic and very chilling video captured by an eyewitness just as the shooting unfolded. Watch this. [ gunshots ] put the gun down put the gun down [ continued gunfire ] [ gunfire ] do you know where hes at . Hes behind home plate. I asuit people have been calling 911 already. [ gunfire ] hey, is that guy okay out there . The guy the guy who has been shot . Is he okay . Has is anybody talking to him . [ gunfire ] pretty shocking when you hear all those gunshots. Joining us now, republican congressman mike bishop of michigan. He was at the republican baseball practice this morning when that gunman opened fire. Congressman, i know you were actually standing at home plate when you heard that first shot. I want to hear your story, get your reaction. Youre an eyewitness to what happened. I want to take a quick break. Well resume our special coverage here in the situation room right after this. 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Our breaking news, a gunman opened fire at a republican congressional baseball practice wounding number three House Republican, congressman Steve Scalise along with a congressional staffer, a lobbyist and two Capitol Police officers. The gunman was fatally wounded by police. Dramatic video was captured by an eyewitness just as the shooting unfolded. Watch this. [ gunfire ] as we stand by for an fbi news conference, were back with republican congressman mike bishop michigan. He was at the baseball practice today when that gunman opened fire. Congressman, first of all, how are you . Im fine. Im actually uninjured and fortunately for me because of the Police Officers there today we walked away. Is that the first time youve actually seen and heard that video of those gunshots . We only played some of them. We didnt play all of them. I cant see from this Vantage Point. Im only looking into a cameras, but thats the first time ive heard it, and its consistent with my memory. Other than the fact that those bullets that were fired my way i can still hear in my head zinging past me and hitting the chain link fence behind me with a ting, ting, ting, ting, a memory sound that oil never forget. Were you at home plate when you heard the first shot. Tell me what your reaction is and what you did. Well, we were all stunned. The first it sounded like a pipe bomb or something went off and all of us kind of had an Immediate Reaction to it but nobody thought that it was a gun. I was looking right down at the third baseman trent kelly, and then when the second one realized and the i realized it was a gun and the third baseman came running at me calling shooter is and i saw and looked over to the Third Base Line on the other side of the chain link fence and there he was, very methodical in his way. Looking at the gun, picked it up, aimed, fired. Put it down, looked for his next target, aimed, fire and seemed to have an endless amount of ammunition and he was determined to get every one of us. We all felt as though i felt as though i was being hunted at that point. So what did you do to take shelter . Well, there was no shelter. We were inside a cage. This field was set up so that you had a backstop all the way aron. One way in and one way out and he positioned himself on the opposite side of the field so he had a direct line of sight at the entrance so you couldnt get up and run. If you did, the moment you got up you were shot at so we had to hunker down at the moment with no shelter around us, and the only reason we had that moment to get up and get out of there was because of those two Capitol Hill Police officers that came running in and began to return fire and that moment, that brief moment of cover gave us the opportunity to seek shelter. He had a rifle with a lot of ammunition. They only had hand of guns, right . Thats right. And these Police Officers are no i dont think had any chance of hitting them from that Vantage Point. Their weapon is not made for that kind distance and all they were trying to do is give us cover so that we could run you felt like you were being hunted. Describe a little bit more, if you can, the shooters demeanor because you say he was very methodical. He just appeared as a hunter to me. I looked over at him and just the way in which he was very casually, as though he had he had no instinct at all about what he was doing. It was just a matter of fact. He was loading, aiming and fire, indiscriminately at people and you could see him looking for a target as he kind of measured the field of his eyes, and and he fired at whomever he saw move. It appeared to me that thats what he was doing, and when Steve Scalise, our whip was hit out in second base, the instinct is to run and try to help him but we couldnt get to him because every time we tried to move we were shot at. How long did it take, congressman, to subdue him . It seemed like an eternity, but my sense is that it went on for the shooting went on for eight, ten minutes, about that. Yeah. We heard the video. We heard the gunshots. They were coming in on that video and it goes on and on and on, and some of the gun shots clearly were return fire from the Police Officers, but at some point Alexandria Police showed up as backups, right, and they were also very helpful. They were, but i cant underscore enough how important the Capitol Police were. They were there within seconds and had they not been there i would not be standing here today. Im sure of that fact, and they came in without any regard for their own life and their own safety and began to return fire. The Alexandria Police did respond quickly, but if we had waited ford them to be there, none of us would be around to talk about in. Did you see the shooter go down . I did from a distance. He he was behind the the utility shack that was near the baseball field. I didnt actually see him go down because he was behind it, but we were all behind, you know, another shack trying to seek shelter, and it all happened right in front of us. These these two these two Capitol Hill Police officers are warriors. Ive never seen anything like it before. Both of them had wounds and they were still firing. And if they had not been there, as some of your republican colleagues have said, including to me, there would have been a massacre, all of you potentially could have been endangered and shot. Heres something intriguing. Steve scalise, the majority whip, the number three republican in the house, he was shot. Did it appear to you as if this shooter was actually aiming at him or anyone specific . No. Like i said, i may be wrong, but from my Vantage Point it looked as though he was he was kind of shifting is and looking for a target, and it was very indiscriminate in the way he chose his target. I dont think that he was aiming in any one particular person or any one particular person. He was clearly after all of us. He clearly said at one point that republicans are the taliban of the usa. I asked the question about Steve Scalise because in another Facebook Post back in 2015 he wrote this and said this about Steve Scalise. Hes a republican that should lose his job but they gave him a raise, so clearly he had some grievance against Steve Scalise, the republican majority whip, but you didnt you dont believe he was deliberately targeting him . It would be pure speculation hon my part. I think this man is obviously mentally deranged. He had no regard for humanity. What i was watching was a person, a robot firing a weapon without any regard for anything, any life, nothing. Was he wearing bod bearmor . Down if he was wearing body armor, and did you see him reload . I did not see him reload but he did because he fired endlessly. I didnt see whether he had body armor on because it seemed like it took forever for them to take him down and i know that they shot multiple times at him, clear shots. Who knows if he had any on or not. Im not sure. So what do you do now, congressman . Youre going to go back to your district in michigan and youll have town halls and meet with folks there. Are you beefing up your own personal security . This just happened. We dont know how to handle this. Hour job is a public job. We take this job because we like people. We like working with people, so i like being at the Grocery Store and having someone come up to me and talk to me about an issue that they are concerned about, people calling me. Im going to interrupt you for a moment but stand by. The fbi is about to have a news conference. The fbi special agent in charge, tim slater. I want our viewers to listen in. Good afternoon. Hello again. My name is timothy slater. Im the special agent in charge of the fbis Washington Field office, and im here to provide an investigative update on the shooting that occurred this morning. I would like to thank the Alexandria Police department, the u. S. Capitol police and medical Response Teams who responded to the scene this morning for their quick and decisive actions. Actually saving livings. I remind you that this is an active investigation, and details continue to unfold. I stressed this earlier and im going to underscore it now, that the fbi is not going to talk about the character or nature in which we are investigating this case other than to say we continue to work this as an active investigation and an ongoing matter. There has been some confusion about the injuries involved. Our statements sent out earlier today, this afternoon actually, identified the number of victims and their injuries. Let me just review that quickly for you. Five individuals were shot. A congressman, a United States Capitol Police officer, a congressional staffer, a lobbyist and the subject. And an additional two individuals, a congressman and a Capitol Police officer attained secondary injuries at the scene and were transported to local hospitals and treated. As for the subject, and this is the only time that ill be referring to him by his name. This afternoon we released a statement noting that the subject name was James Hodgkinson, 66 years of age of bellville, illinois. He succumbed to his injuries at the hospital, and the d. C. Medical examiner has issued the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds to the torso. The fbi has issued a seeking information poster oiflgt shooter, and it can be found at www. Fbi. Gov. While the out is deceased, we continue to actively investigate the shooters motives, acquaintances and whereabouts that led to todays incident. We will continue to have presence as we process a scene here in alexandria, and fbi agents are searching the shooters home, his residence in bellville, illinois. The subject vehicle was located on scene and has been swept by alexandria pd and the atf, and we will be processing with our fbi Evidence Recovery Team as well. Obviously, we are looking to glean what we can from the contents regarding his elect call devices that he opened. Law enforcement has reason to believe that the shooter has been in alexandria, Virginia Area since march of this year. The fbi has issued again, seeking information poster thats located on our website, asking the public to come forward with information on the shooter. To the local alexandria community, we believe that the shooter has been living out of his vehicle in the vicinity of east monroe street, therefore, asking you to report any interactions that you may have had with him. Likewise, the subject traveled from his residence in illinois, and we are asking and speaking with individuals who know him personally or who have or who have may encountered him on their travels. If you have information, please call the fbi 24hour tip line at 1800call fbi and select option one or visit tips. Fbi. Gov. So, again, the fbis 24hour hotline at 1800callfbi and select option one or visit tips. Fbi. Gov. All tips will remain confidential. No amount of information is too small to report. Law enforcement will remain on scene until processing of the scene has been completed. We ask that the local community for your patience and your cooperation as we complete this task. Further updates will be shared via written statements unless Law Enforcement collectively stand behind mow and advises otherwise. Ill open it up for a few questions in just a second, but i want to turn it over to chief brown from alexandria pd for a couple of comments. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Its mike brown, brown, chief of the Alexandria Police department. I just wanted to get back and give a status as to what were doing in this community to try and reassure the community in terms of the safety and the security of our residents. Right now we are canvassing the immediate area out here doing doortodoor with our colleagues from the Sheriffs Department and the Fire Department so that we can reassure people in the community that we believe this incident today is over, although the investigation will continue in this area for a while. Were also working with some of our other departments in this city, for example, with the department of community and Health Services to make services that are generally available for these kinds of situations and available to our communities over the next couple of days. We care very much about our residents and the people that come to visit us in this city, and were doing everything that we can to reassure them that this is a Safe Community and that your government and your Public Safety personnel care deeply about it. That said, youll see a lot of Law Enforcement and fire personnel working this area trying to reassure them of such so i thank you for that, and as a part of the department we will continue to work with the fbi as they move forward on their investigation. Thank you very much. Special agent slater. Did he have a vendetta against republicans . I have no comment on that. Do you know whose shots brought him down . It was a multiple local Law Enforcement smobs so i do not know at this time. Was it both the Capitol Police and the alexandria who responded and shot him . Im not going to comment on exactly who it was. It was multiple local agencies. Can you at least talk about the weapons. Can you give us an idea of what youre drying to run down about the weapons. The only comment about weapons is one handgun and one rifle. What are you trying to learn about those . Where they came from, who bought them. How he acquired them. All the logical investigative leads. St. Clair county officers interacted with him in march in illinois. Was it shortly half that that he came here because you say hes been here since march . We believe hes been here since march so im not going to comment on the specifics. Was the Capitol Police officer shot in the original round of fun fire . Im not exactly sure. Is there anything about his for people who may have seen him, is there anything that what he may have been doing in a couple of months that may jog peoples recollection . Thats what were asking the public to help us with because were not sure at this time. Have you spoken to his wife . Im not going to comment on that. Its part of the investigation. Was he on radar with authorities in illinois . Were exploring all angles. Well let the facts take us where he goes. Witnesses say he was handcuffed. Was he still speaking and can, when he was taken away . Im not aware. [ inaudible question ]. That im not aware of. Do you know if he was working in the area . It appears he was not working. [ inaudible question ]. Im not going to comment on victims. What i have about the victims is what ive already provided. [ inaudible question ]. Im not sure aboutna. Well put it in the next. Can you describe the vehicle and did it have illinois plates . The only comment ill make is a white cargo van. Can the Capitol Police talk about their officers and those who were injured and returned fire . Hello, deputy chief fred rogers representing chief matt verderosa. We did put out a statement and we want to commend crystal griner, david bailey and thankful for special agent griner who is in Good Condition at the hospital having been shot in the ankle and special agent bailey was treated and released, having sustained a minor injury during the incident. United states Capitol Police is dedicated to the mission of protecting the United States capitol, members of congress and staff and the visiting public, and today we saw how our officers extensive training was put into action. We also would like to thank our partner agencies, the fbi, atf, u. S. Park police, Virginia State police and especially the Alexandria Police for their work in helping us to respond and mitigate this incident. We continue to provide a robust and visible presence at a capitol complex and to monitor national and world events to provide a level of security thats appropriate for the u. S. Congress. Can you describe officer griners response after being shot and continuing to work to get the suspect. Thats part of the Ongoing Investigation and i wont comment on it. The missions of the Capitol Police, the agents who were with congressman scalise, give us a sense. Is that a protective detail . Whats their mission . How does that work . Their particular assignment today was to protect the congressman. Was he the only one who had a protective detail today . Todays date we have Capitol Police officers assigned to monitor this event. Chief brown, theres video and audio recordings of the gunfire and gun battle, and it would appear to have been ferocious. By a laymans count dozens and dozens of shots fired and people screaming get down. Can you describe what your officers and what the capitol officers were facing when they came in . I wont go into the specifics of the investigation but ive heard the video and talks with some of my officers at least, or some of them, and quite frankly it was not only chaotic, but there was it was a combat situation, and thats something that Law Enforcement is trained to do. Our officers are trained to do. Im very proud of the officers at apd and the officers from the Capitol Police who stood their ground and did their job. More will come out of this when the facts are known and the investigation is complete, but i couldnt be more proud of the alexandria Police Officers. They were up against somebody with a semiautomatic weapon and they were returning fire engaging to begin with anyways with handguns. They did engage in a fire fight. I wont get into the details of that, because thats also part of the investigation. We, like every other agency, rely on doing a shooting investigation. Any time we have a discharge of weapons, and we are doing that right now and to get ahead of that would not be fair for the officers an not fair for the agency. Well deal in the facts when they become apparent, but our officers are doing fine. They have they were taken good care of. Im personally concerned about them, and they did a great job today and im very proud of them. Thanks. Were they on the scene before the shooting, or is it when they responded to the 911 call . We received a call of shots fired, as i mentioned this morning, at 7 09 in the morning. Within three minutes we had all three units here. Some of the units were here earlier, and they were engaged in upon their arrival, and wont go into any greater detail because of the investigation. Chief, did your officers have any encounters with mr. Hodgkinson in the months that he has been here until today . I cant speak to that right now because thats part of the investigation, and i dont want to get ahead of the investigation. The fbi has the lead. Were working with the fbi, and at some point in time well be able to give that you information when thats available. Oh, okay. Thank you. [ inaudible question ]. Im not sure of that. Well have to get back to you on that one. Had he discussed this with anyone else or if anyone else was involved in this in any way . Thats part of the investigation and im not going to comment on that. Do you have anybody else in custody in. Nobody else in custody. Did he have both of those guns on him . Im not going to comment about the guns other than one handgun and one rifle. Attributed to him . Potentially. Did he have the handgun on him or was it in the car . Not going to comment on the guns. Theres been discussion about how this could be protected, have more Capitol Police officers need protecting and liberals talk differently about President Trump. Do you expect your investigation will give you any questions. I just ask that you let us complete our investigation and let the facts lie where they may. We know you all concluded that he was the shooter. What else will the final report provide to us . What do you hope to answer . We hope to answer motive and why he was here and why he did what he did. [enaudible question ]. I have no information about that. No information on that at the moment. How will you handle that . I have no comment on that. Is there any reason why he chose this game . What do you mean . Why did he choose today . I have no indication of why, why today at all, no, sir. Or this place . Or this place. What about the security at Nationals Park . I cant speak about that . He was basically living on the street. The politicians came to him essentially, and might it simply be that this was an opportunity where his previously expressed anger on social media played how the . Well figure that out as the investigation unfolds. Just one more question. Do you have any indication at all that he knew that that practice was going on here or whether it was random in. We have no invasion that he knew this was going on, no, sir. And youre not actively seeking any other suspects . No, were asking for the communitys help and well run it out where it leads, where it goes. But as of now youre not asking the community, hey, being on the lookout for anybody else. Youre not searching for anybody else. Not at the moment, but we dont know where this will lead. Okay. Okay. Fair enough. Thank you. Tim slater, the fbi special agent in charge together with representatives from the Alexandria Police force, police chief Michael Brown there as well as from the u. S. Capitol police, the fbi now in charge of this overall investigation because representatives of the federal government, namely Steve Scalise, the number throw republican, the majority whip in the house of representatives, among those shot in this incident. Lets get some analysis. You know, tom fuentes, youre a former fbi assistant director. Lots of legitimate questions for the fbi and the others, limited number of answers because this investigation is only just getting under way. And they dont want to taint the information coming in or people calling in or giving statements because they heard it on statements and i think the special agent in charge was very restrained and pointing out information as he should. You know, phil mudd, there were warnings out there apparently ignored by his Facebook Posts, hodgkinson, the shooter. In march he posted trump is a traitor. Trump has destroyed our democracy. Its time to destroy trump and company. In february he posted republicans are the taliban of the usa. Were there missed moments there . Well, thats thats the first stage of this investigation. There owes at least five things, including what you indicated, wolf, that im looking for within 24, 48, 72 hours and potentially going out weeks. The first is, you mentioned motivation. Im looking at Electronic Devices mentioned by the fbi in that briefing. Do we have a laptop . Do you know what his google searches were to indicate i want to know from his cell phone, who he talked to, texted, emails, especially within the last couple days. I want toxicology tests to determine whether he was taking drugs or alcohol. I want travel data to determine whether or not he was moving around alexandria. I want to know where he was in previous days to determine whether he was talking to anybody in local neighborhood. I want know pattern of acquisition, of things like ammunition. Was there a change in pattern . Wolf, there is at least 10 to 15 questions, one is motivation. I dont think we will find we missed anything because tracks are too general. There are a thousand people every minute posting negative things every minute about politics. That is rolling fast and furious right now. It is one thing to post things about politics. It is another thing to threaten the president of the United States. Thats a crime. Thats a crime. That is always investigated. When he threalks about trump an company, thats a threat. We dont know if the secret service became aware of it and whether he was one of hundreds that put it up every single day. Brianna, you were at capitol hill. I take it security, and you used to cover congress, sin tenis intensifying. Capitol hill is always very secure. I think we can agree on that. But what i saw was just a concern. For members of congress, you can read it on the faces of capitol hill. Their biggest concern is once they leave the capitol. The capitol is a building that can be sealed off that you can have protections for coming and going. The bigger issue is when members of congress go to, not just a baseball practice, but if they go to a town hall meeting. If they are out in their districts. What kind of security measures do they need to take . I spoke today with a member of congress who said already he is not doing town halls. He is a former sheriff, and he said it is because hes had security concerns. Instead he does tele town halls. You see that restricts exposure to constituents but they are starting to feel theres a need for that. Gloria, how does this fit in to the rather toxic political environment we are seeing right now. Honestly, it doesnt fit in at all. There should be no faction in american politics that wants to shoot its opponents, period. And so, yeah, we have a course environment, sure. Maybe people as many members of congress have talked about today, need to tone it down and maybe we need to sort of take a look at ourselves and our political discord and the rest of it. I get that. I agree with it. People are traumatized by this. I have listened to member after member today. Talking about this. With tears in their eyes. Because they disagree with people. They dont want to kill them. Thats what is so hurtful and awful about this. And so you know, we can talk about the courseness but its discourse and thats the difference here. I know after the Gabby Gifford shooting and we talked a lot about it after newtown and you can dissolve issues to gun control but i do think what is troubling everybody and what makes everybody here feel so helpless in a way is that, where are we where people in politics want to do violence to their opponents . You cant extrapolate with any certainty from this that even the discourse in washington is what caused this. But i do think in talking to members of congress on capitol hill today, they have a concern about that. And you cant extrapolate with certainty that it did not. So i think it becomes a something on the minds of both democrats and republicans as they go through the process of making their arguments. That there are people out there who are very angry and are they going to try to concerns, are they going to exploit anger . I think these are questions they are just thinking about a lot more right now. The investigation as the fbi age ept in charge says this is only just beginning. We will get answers to motivation. It is clear though that this individual, mr. James hodgkinson, 66 years old of bellville, illinois, hated, hated, republicans. That is clear. And he asked two people who were there, two members who were there, these republicans or democrats, they said, republicans, and we know what happened of that. Lets take a quick break. We resume all of our special coverage right after this. [boy] cannonball [girl] dont. [man] not again [burke] swan drive. Seen it. Covered it. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum at lincoln financial, we get there are some responsibilities of love you gotta do on your own. And some you shouldnt have to shoulder alone. Like ensuring your family is protected, today and tomorrow, no matter what the future brings. Ask a Financial Advisor how Life Insurance from lincoln can help start protecting your familys financial future now. Itthat can make a worldces, of difference. Expedia, everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. Livestreat the airport. E sport, binge dvrd shows, while painting your toes. On demand laughs, during long bubble baths. Tv on every screen is awesome. The allnew Xfinity Stream app. All your tv at home. The most on demand, your entire dvr, top networks, and live sports on the go. Included with xfinity tv. Xfinity the future of awesome. Breaking news. Brutal and deliberate republican members of congress targeted by a gunman with a partisan grudge turning a baseball practice into fullfledged attack. Republican leader is in critical condition. Others are hospitalized and the nations capitol is in shock. Frustrated and furious. We are learning more tonight about the shooter, his arrest record and rants against President Trump and republicans. This hour, ill talk to man whos been in regular contact with the gunman in recent weeks. Securing congress. This shooting is raising urgent new questions about the safety of americas elected officials. Should they have more protection during these divisive and dangerous times . And play ball. The annual congressional baseball game will go on as planned as members of both parties come together in a moment of sorrow and rare unity. We want to welcome our v