Transcripts For KPIX KPIX 5 News At 6AM 20170614

Would be premature for us to respond any further. In an hour and a half, well come back together and give you an update on what we can speak to and perhaps maybe answer some questions. Chief, any other shooters out there . This is a stable situation at this point. Theres no additional threat. We consider this incident to be a closed incident under investigation. Thank you very much. And the suspect in custody, correct . The suspect in custody . There you have it. The first weve heard from the Alexandria Police and the chief of the u. S. Capitol police. A press conference in an hour and a half, in which well learn more details. Theyre bringing investigators together, trying to find out everything they know. As we have said throughout this morning since we heard about this, it is always better to be cautious about what you know until you hear officially from people who have the responsibility to know. Police were certainly cautious there, saying its an active, hot investigation. They were given very little details. They did say five people were transported from the scene to the hospital. They said that the gunman is in custody. I think we got a lot of information this morning, though, from senator jeff flake, who was there. A lot of details about what he witnessed. Weve now heard from a number of lawmakers who were on the scene who described Steve Scalise, who is one who was shot, a member of congress, shot in the hip, that he was on third base, i believe. Second base. Yes, second base when he was shot in the hip, that he tried to drag himself into the dugout, and congressman Brad Wenstrup treated him, an army vet. He recently gave an interview. Lets listen. We were going through our normal practice, taking batting practice, playing in the field. I had just gotten to the batting cages from the field and heard a gunshot. Everyone just started getting down. Then we realized after a few more shots that Steve Scalise had been hit, and people were running for cover. There was a guy behind the third base dugout shooting a rifle. He moved from the outfield side to the infield side, and then he was moving some more, went behind another building, still firing at people. Secret service responded. Fortunately secret service was here because Steve Scalise was here. They had not been here, it probably would have been far worse. Unfortunately, we had about four or five people hit. Not exactly sure how many. When they finally then the guy moved again and was firing a pistol. I think it was one local policeman and secret service closed in on him. I dont know what happened to him, but once they had him down, i went out to Steve Scalise. I felt like i was back in iraq as a surgeon. And steve was conscious and okay. Thats all ill say about that. They got him out of here and the others. And that was congressman wenstrup. Chilling to hear him say he felt like he was back in iraq. You see now what looks like more security on the ground there. A live scene. We also heard earlier from senator jeff flake, who was there in the dugout who gave a very detailed account of what happened. Lets listen. He had a rifle of some type, and it was obviously a large gauge rifle. There were people in the field. One staffer was shot out in the field, and he ran with wounds to the dugout. A lot of us dove into the dugout and tried to get as many as we could, but then at that point, there was firing behind us from the security detail, the Capitol Police. I started yelling back, are you friendly, making sure that was our guy. We didnt know if there were other shooters that had us surrounded and would come into the dugout. So we didnt know whether to run or not. As soon as we found out we had a friendly behind us, then we stayed and tried to keep down. I poked my head up at one point and saw the shooter behind the backstop or behind the fence. He still had a line of shot, a line of fire into the dugout. Senator flake also went on to describe the shooter as a white, middleaged man, looked to be one shooter. The shooting happened for about ten minutes. You mentioned earlier, charlie, about soft targets. You cant get to what appears to be a softer target than a baseball field in the suburb of washington where youre practicing for a Charity Baseball game. Whats interesting at this hour is that now security around the white house has been stepped up. They are restricting access on pennsylvania avenue between 15th and 17th street. Theyre going through the bags hand by hand. Theyve set their mags to the highest sensitivity. The u. S. Secret service telling cbs news that out of an abundance of caution, the north fence line and Lafayette Park have been temporarily closed. So thats significant. It is, indeed. Let me go back to nancy cordes on capitol hill. And this is now, charlie, starting to affect the workday here on capitol hill, as you would imagine. The House Foreign Affairs committee was scheduled to hold a hearing at 10 00 a. M. Eastern with the secretary of state rex tillerson. That has now been postponed. Were told by congressional leadership that most congressional Business Today is likely to be interrupted. Steve scalise was the only member of that Republican Baseball Team who was a member of leadership. So he was the only person there on the field who would have been there with his own protective Capitol Police detail. Youve heard a number of members now say this morning that were it not for those Capitol Hill Police officers that things would have been much worse. But as one republican lawmaker put it, the pistols that they carry were still no match for someone with a rifle. And they describe a very frightening scene where they had to get down on the ground. They didnt know where the shots were coming from for many minutes. They could see that Steve Scalise was hit, but they couldnt get to him until finally his Capitol Hill Police protective detail, in an astonishing act of bravery, actually ran towards him getting hit in the process. According to some reports, eventually managed to bring that shooter down with their pistol. One of the other interesting aspects that senator flake said is he took a cell phone, took calls to Steve Scalises wife so she would hear it from him. Its great he had the presence of mind to do that, let her know her husband was okay. This all happened a little after 7 00 this morning. They were there on the scene within three minutes of receiving a call for help. Two extraordinary things happened. One is the fact that the police that were the d. C. Capitol police were there, and secondly that one of the first people there was someone who had experience as a battlefield surgeon to treat Steve Scalise. To immediately apply a tourniquet near his hip, where he was shot, probably saving his life. As frightening as this is, it seems they had a lot of things going for them, as unfortunate as this situation is. Well go back to Major Garrett at the white house with the latest on what President Trump is saying. In addition to President Trump, Vice President mike pence, a former member of the house of representatives, someone who knows Steve Scalise very well, knows everyone in the House Republican conference very, very well, he tweets this morning, karen and i are praying for Steve Scalise, the Capitol Police, and all hurt for a speedy recovery. Our hearts are with them and their loved ones. Its worth noting the Vice President was scheduled at 9 00 a. M. This morning to deliver a speech to the National Home builders association. He has canceled those remarks. We were thinking, because we hadnt received any guidance from the Vice President s office, until just shortly before that event was to occur that the Vice President might avail himself of the opportunity there to offer some remarks or update on the situation. Hes decided to cancel that appearance. What we have from him is that tweet that i just read to you. To underscore marks reporting, i can tell you that Lafayette Square has, in fact, been skurd. Pennsylvania avenue, if you dont have a secret service approved pass, you are not going to get along pennsylvania avenue at least for the time being. That is something that the secret service, as i have reported before, typically does in a situation like this. As it says, out of an abundance of caution. Major, one quick point that you reported earlier. The president in an earlier tweet is the only one weve heard from that can talk about the condition of congressman scalise, said he was hurt badly but will recover. Thats from the president of the united states. Yes, thats the president of the united states. Thats the most definitive medical description, if it is to be viewed as such. It may be the president s own words. Maybe conveyed to him from someone with an official medical status. I dont know. But thats what the president told the country, that Steve Scalise was badly hurt but will fully recover. That is without question most definitive statement weve received not only on what happened to Steve Scalise, badly hurt, and that hell fully recover, meaning that this is not life threatening. Those who were on the scene, as we have reported, one of the congressmen has a medical background. Were not prepared to say that, maybe because they were being cautious, because they dont know all of the underlying facts, butt president has told the country, told the world, badly hurt, fully recovered. Thats from the president of the united states. Thanks, major. All right. We know this happened at 7 09 eastern time this morning. We just received new video of when the gunman was taken down where the gunman, i should say, was taken down. The gunman is described as a male middleage white man, he says. This is according to senator flake. You can see the gunmans clothing right here and a number of Law Enforcement surrounding some of what appears to be his clothing. The initial reports from some of our sources are saying that he had a pistol and an m4 assault weapon. You also heard senator flake saying that he had a large rifle, a large clip that was 50plus shots fired. A witness heard more than 50 shots. A lot of ammunition. Were going to the scene now. What are you hearing . We just got an update from the chief of Alexandria Police, who is frankly not saying as much as what we know from our sources. Hes very careful to say right now this is still unfolding, so theyre focusing on making sure the scene is secure. You can see we are about four or five blocks away from the other side of the police tape, where the baseball field is. Right now there are so many First Responders, Police Officers, investigators, as they try to piece together what happened. What you can also see here is this is a very typical virginia suburb outside of d. C. There are so many people out here lining the sidewalks, looking at something theyve never seen before. People are here walking their dogs. Theyre here trying to get information because this is not the neighborhood they know. Many people tell us they are shocked. One gentleman said he was woken up this morning by dozens of gunshots. So again, that is something that they are not used to processing. Rating now police say five people were transported to the hospital. Theyre not releasing any names officially. Theyre focusing, they say, on what happened here, who this gunman was, and why he did it. Of course, it will be a long haul. You can see the activity here, which again includes many residents of this alexandria neighborhood who are trying to piece together and make sense of what has happened in their neighborhood. All right. Thank you. And were now learning that it appears that five people were shot. Congressman williams has just released a statement saying that he was not shot, however a member of his staff was shot and is receiving medical attention. So it appears that according to congressman williams that his staffer was also wounded in this attack on a baseball field this morning. This comes from congressman Roger Williams from texas. Were also hearing from Gabby Giffords who tweeted, my heart is with my former colleagues, their family and staff, and the u. S. Capitol police, Public Servants and heroes today every day. Gabby giffords knows what this kind of terror is like. She was shot january 8th, 2011, when she was meeting with constituents at a shopping mall. They recently cristenhristened vessel after her. She knows what this kind of terror is like first hand. Its interesting to hear from her. Not only does she know, but shes a symbol of heroism for Many Americans because they have experienced with her what shes gone through and her recovery to the extent that she has experienced this in full public view. There are so many questions that still remain at this hour. The story is still unfolding. Police have been cautious to say were only going to tell you so much, very little, because we only know so much and its still unfolding. It does raise the question, again, about how vulnerable we are. You think youre very safe at a baseball game. Its 7 00 baseball practice rather. Its 7 00 in the morning. Going to knock out a practice before the big game, then go on to work, and in an instant your life is changed, including one of the congressmen who brought his young son. You would think its safe to bring your children to shag balls. Hes okay. Congressman joe barton. Hes the captain of the team. We heard some of those details from senator jeff flaike, the republican from arizona. Lets hear more from him. He had a rifle of some type, and it was obviously a largegauge rifle. There were people in the field. One staffer was shot out in the field. And he ran with wounds to the dugout. A lot of us dove into the dugout and tried to get as many as we could. At that point, there was firing behind us from the security detail, the Capitol Police. I started yelling back, are you friendly, making sure that was our guy. We didnt know if there were other shooters that had us surrounded and would come into the dugout. So we didnt know whether to run or not. But as soon as we found out we had a friendly, then we stayed, tried to keep down. I poked my head up at one point and saw the shooter behind the backstop, or behind the fence, but he still had a line of shot, a line of fire into the dugout. Firing through the fence . Well, he was firing around, but he still could have fired into the dugout. Thats why he kept everybody down. Joe bartons boy was here, 10yearold, just shagging balls. We got him into the dugout and stuffed him under the bench. Joe barton is a congressman from texas. Hes the manager. Did this appear to be a coordinated attack . Well, it looks like only one shooter. So youve got to assume he knew what he was doing here. Whether he was targeting certain members, we dont know. How long until he was down . It seemed like a lot longer, but it was at least ten minutes. Did you realize there were Capitol Police officers armed with you here . You knew ahead of time. We did. Steve scalise is a member of the leadership team. Hes the whip. So he has a security detail. Two of his detail were shot, one africanamerican gentleman shot in the leg, and i believe hes the one that brought the shooter down. He ran around for quite a while with a leg wound, returning fire. Returning fire with a leg wound, as congressman wenstrup said earlier, he felt like he was back in iraq, an army vet. Paula reed reporting that Law Enforcement officials telling cbs news at this point there are no links to terrorism. But the investigation is active and ongoing. Thats not definitive. So important point at this moment. All right. Lets go to nancy cordes on capitol hill. I can tell you this is going to have a Chilling Effect for every member of congress, and they normally feel quite free to walk around washington, d. C. , and none of them, aside from the small group of members of congress who make up congressional leadership have security with them, and its not unusual to see senator Bernie Sanders walking down the street with his laundry or senator ted cruz out to dinner. This is a small town in some ways, and there are a lot of members of congress. They go about their daily lives, not just here on capitol hill, in the capitol building, where there are Capitol Hill Police officers stationed at every sblan entrance, but out in the Wider Community where until now they have not felt inhibited about going to the Grocery Store or to a baseball game or out to dinner. Theres no question that this is going create some fear for members of congress, for their aides, until we know more about why they were targeted, if they were, in fact, targeted by in gunman, if he chose this particular location because he knew that members of congress and their aides would be practicing, and its a very unfortunate situation because members of congress have to live and work here in washington, d. C. , and in their home districts, and if they arent free to move around to talk to constituents, to meet with members of the community, it really inhibits their ability to do their job. All right. Nancy, we thank you very much. This incident happened at 7 09 this morning. We heard from the chief of police who said that Law Enforcement was there within three minutes of getting the call. Ben childress was also there. Hes an eyewitness. We talked to him earlier today about what he saw. I was sitting on my balcony this morning when i heard what i later figured out was the first gunshot. Althoughi although, thats not what i thought it was. I just thought there was construction. After a few more gunshots, i looked over at the baseball field, and thats when all of the people playing baseball were just running off the field. We called 911 at that moment, assuming it must have been a shooting, which later got confirmed thats what was happening. The gunshots kept coming. I have no idea how many there were. We did have there were three people that were playing baseball coming around the corner, and we were able to get them into our apartment so that way they could shelter in place and they can call their families and offices and let them know they were okay. So thats what we were able to do. Did they talk to you about what they had seen or heard . I would say the only thing that i would feel comfortable stating is that they also said that Steve Scalise was down. Did they give you any indication, ben, about who the gunman is . Were looking at your video now on the screen. Sounds like a very terrifying and frightening situation for all involved and certainly to people that witnessed it. I think that would be accurate. They had no idea who was shooting at them or how many people. It seems to be that its obviously over at this point, but were not sure, you know, what happened. Were hearing there are reports of 50 gunshots. Thats an awful lot of fire power. There were at least 50 gunshots. I feel highly confident in saying that. Im no expert on guns. I have no idea what kind of gun it could have been. Where were the people in your apartment . Where were they when the shots rang out . They were on the baseball field. On the field but not in the dugout. I guess i dont know that far. When i say field, i mean the general proximity of the baseball field. And how long did they stay in your apartment . What has happened to them . How did that turn out . What happened . So they were there for maybe five or ten minutes. We got them some water and gave them our phones so they could call their one of the gentlemen called his wife. Another one was trying to get through to his office just to let them know that they were okay. The three of them were okay. None of them had anything more than like a scratch from just playing baseball. We go now to republican representative tom rooney of florida. He was at the practice when the shooting happened. He joins us now on the phone. Congressman, thank you for joining us. Thanks, charlie. I actually left about four minutes before to talk my kids to school, so i was im the first baseman, and steve is the second baseman. He just finished batting practice and came out to the field and we were working on doing double plays and so, you know, i had to leave to take my kids to school a little bit early. I didnt obviously see anything, but steves detail parked a big black, suv by the gate at first base. Hes got his detail in the car. Then i think hes got one or two Walking Around. But apparently theres a parking lot if you have an aerial, theres a parking lot along the third base side. The field is guarded by a chain link fence, but if somebody is parked in that parking lot by the Third Base Line and steve was on second, which i know he was because he was just there, you know, theyd have a direct shot at him. I dont know if they were targeting steve. We all wear baseball stuff, so its not like were that easily discernible, but you know, im just in shock. Normally i would have been there, but yeah, i just literally left. I know i got in the car and looked at the clock. It was 7 05. Apparently the shots went off at 7 09. Just extremely lucky i guess. I stand right next to him. Very helpful to understand that. Give us a sense of the impact of this and how your fellow members of congress are reacting as they hear the information and share it. Well, its just i mean, you know steves detail is there because hes in leadership and he has detail with him wherever he goes, but we all sort of walk by his detail every morning, never really thinking that its going to be needed because, you know, were out there from 6 30 to 7 30 every day for about six weeks. Weve been at that field for probably six years practicing. The game is tomorrow. I dont know if this guy knew that today was the last day. I dont know if they knew that was scalise on second. Or what. We do this for charity. Its one of the few things that we do with the democrats thats supposed to be for fun, and we play at nats stadium and raise a lot of money for charity. This is just something that some of us do that is supposed to be for fun and not for a minute do i ever think that im putting myself in danger by going out to baseball practice at 6 30 in the morning. But understanding the times we live in, has there been any consideration at congress that perhaps we need to be more secure and more cautionary in this era that is part of our own lives today . Well, charlie, i would say no up until about an hour ago. I dont know whats going to happen in the future. Maybe we have to have Capitol Police Walking Around the field during the whole baseball practice or what. I know that rand paul, whos on our team, said that if steves detail wasnt there, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. I cant disagree with that because they have weapons too. I dont know that wed have detail there for us if we didnt have a member of leadership. None of the rest of us have detail like that. So i dont know whats going to happen in the future because you got a bunch of members of congress in one place, but im just kind of in shock right now. Today was my kids last day of school. I normally would have still been there. I wanted to let my wife sleep in this morning, so i said im going to come back early, leave early so you can sleep in and ill take them to school today. If i county do that, i stand right next to him because i play first. So like i said, we were working on double plays. 7 05 im in my car. 7 09, steve is shot. Wow. Stay with us. We have obviously concern of the president. We had the speaker of the house saying this morning, the hearts of the whole house are with steve, the brave Capitol Police staff, and all those in harms way. Can you tell us more about steve, number one, congressman, and also have you heard how he is today, anyone who has seen him or talked to him after he was taken to the hospital . My staff has told me that hes in stable condition, so if hes watching, steve, i love you, man. Im sorry i wasnt there with you. I understand. Yeah, we can appreciate, congressman rooney, how you must be feeling right now. This is extremely frustrating. Rand paul said this morning that without steves detail, this could have been a massacre. You say that, you know, an ordinary day in your life, youre going to take your kids to school, it was their last day. So i know that this is very jarring and very upsetting. Were all sitting here really in a state of shock watching how this is unfolding. But you said you talked about security detail that you pass every day, and you never think youre going to need them, but today they were there when they were needed. Yeah, and like i said, i mean, this is a pretty open field. Theres a dog park there that people are walking their dogs early in the morning. Otherwise, theres not many people around at that hour besides us. Theres a lot of staff there. Theres reporters there usually. I dont know if theres actually any reporters there this morning, which is odd because theyre usually there, especially the day before the game. The other odd thing, just in retrospect, im still in my baseball uniform right now, you know, talking to you. Today is the last day of practice. So i dont know if this guy knew that. You know, we wouldnt be there again for another year, or what. You asked about steve. Hes the most happygolucky guy. In practice hes always smiling and goofing around. Just creates a lot of levity. We take this game very seriously. Obviously we want to win, but it is for a good cause. You know, steve being in leadership and being out there and our starting second baseman, hes somebody every morning whos always smiling and joking around. Its just, you know aside from his detail and him being there, i dont know what would have happened. This guy really ive heard anything from, you know, 15 rou rounds to 50 to 100. I dont know what would have happened if those guys werent there. Congressman, you said you left before the actual shooting, but when you were there, did you see anybody that wasnt supposed to be a there that looked suspicious to you . No, i mean, if i was, i would have run them over with my car. I pulled out. I know i pulled out at 7 05 because i know how long it takes me to get home to get my kids to school in time. Then i heard a news report saying that shots were at 7 09. Where i park is along the first base side. This guy apparently parked in that lot on the Third Base Line, which he could literally get out of his car, put his rifle through the chain link fence, and you know, if you look at an overhead of the field, he would be looking directly at second base and first base. Like i said, third base, he was closest. Ive already heard from him and hes okay. If youre a gunman putting your gun through the fence at third base, youre probably pointing right at second base. I dont know if he knew it was the majority whip or what, but yeah. Congressman, we heard from senator flake that the shooter was in his 40s, maybe 50s, white, with a blue shirt on carrying a large assaultstyle weapon. The senator also said that joe bartons son was out there on the field shagging balls for you guys during practice. Theres little kwiids there l the time. I know joes son was there this morning because i was talking to joe right before i left literally right before i left i went up to talk to him about the starting lineup, and he was having a catch with his son. Members bring kids are out of school now, some of them you know, bring their kids. Theres a lot of staff there that helps with practice. So theres a lot of people there. Congressman, let me ask you, how often do you practice on this field . The reason i ask that is because do people in the Community Know that youre there every morning or know that youre there regularly starting at about 6 30 . I guess. Weve been practicing on that field for six years. Before that we were up u. S. 1 a little further at another field when i first got elected. Weve been at this field now for about six years. We practice every day that were in session for about six weeks before the game. So i mean, you know, anywhere from 15 to 20 times well be out there from 6 30 to 7 30. And like i said, theres people there walking their dogs and stuff. My tshirt i have on still that i was wearing at practice says republicans on it. Its the shirt we wear under our jerseys. A lot of other members wear the same shirt. So youre identified as a republican on the field. They can see youre republicans. Well, i was. My shirt says republicans on it. I know other members wear the shirt too. I think flake had one on this morning too. Did Steve Scalise . No. Steve always wears a uniform. He wears the uniform. Hes always fully dressed. Unless you knew him, steve didnt have anything discernible that shows who he is. Hes got a baseball hat on. Unless were screaming out his name or something but, you know, like i said, i dont know if he knew it was him or if he just because he was probably the easiest angle from where he was standing. I know exactly where he would have been standing if it was along the Third Base Line. Theres a bullpen that blocks from about third base to left field. In between that, theres a chain link fence. Thats where the guy had to have been standing because otherwise he would have been blocked by the batting cage. So theres probably about 50 feet between the batting cage and the bullpen where theres an opening there. Im just guessing because, you know, like i said, i left early. But im guessing thats where he was standing. And theres a parking lot right 20 feet behind him there. Theres a parking lot there for a gym that he could have easily just pulled in, got out of his car, walked about 20 feet with a rifle, put it through the fence, and started shooting. Congressman it would not have been hard for him to do, and like i said, ste steves detail is usually at that first base gate, blocking the gate to get in. So everybody that walked in there, they know is either staff or players. Congressman, you said after you began this conversation with us that you were in shock. Did you mean that simply as an expression of anybody who had been close to a tragic event like this in which someone with a gun is trying to shoot and kill people, or did it have a deeper meaning for you . Look, i mean, like i said, ive never been around anything like that. So were all out there, you know, practicing, but were also screwing around a little bit. Its a very jovial every time we have practice in the morning like that, you know, were usually not talking about business. Were talking about the game. So i never once thought that anything like this could happen. Maybe im naive, but i just it never dawned on me. For instance, like this happened four minutes after i left. The guy must have already been there. It never donned on me to look down that Third Base Line because i have to drive sort of near there to get out of the exit of the park. We are very, very grateful to have you join us on whats obviously been a very tough day for you. Thank you very much for bringing the Additional Information and the emotional impact of an event like this. All right, guys. Thank you. And lets recap what we know at this hour. This is a cbs news special report. What weve learned is that the number three republican in the house of representatives, congressman Steve Scalise of louisiana, was wounded this morning in a shooting in alexandria, virginia. Thats just a suburb right outside our nations capital. He was shot in the hip. This is video of congressman scalise being taken from the field and put into a medevac helicopter. He is reportedly in stable condition at a hospital at this hour. President trump tweeted a short time ago that scalise was, quote, badly injured but will fully recover. Police say four other people, including two Capitol Hill Police officers, were there. A Congressional Staff member and the alleged gunman were hurt. The suspect is in custody. Hes in serious condition. Initial reports say he was carrying an m4 assault weapon. This all happened at a park where republican members of congress were practicing for tomorrow nights Charity Baseball game between the democrats and republicans. Eyewitnesses say they heard between 50 to 100 shots. It happened a little after 7 00 this morning at 7 09. The gunman had a rifle, were told, and a pistol. The gunfire went on for several minutes. The secret service has now closed Lafayette Park across the street from the white house and expanded the White House Security perimeter out of an abundance of caution, they say. A Law Enforcement source says at this point there are no apparent ties to terrorism, but we should stress this investigation is still ongoing. Want to go back now to nancy cordes on capitol hill, whos joined by congressman evan jenkins from West Virginia whos a close friend of congressman scalise. M nancy . Norah, congressman jenkins was actually in the house gym with the House Speaker this morning when this happened. Can you tell us how you learned about the news and what the speaker did . You know, a lot of people dont know, many of us actually sleep in our office. I do. Paul ryan, the speaker, kevin mccarthy. So we actually kind of see each other as well as Steve Scalise virtually every morning. So we were in the gym this morning when the news had broke right there about 7 10, 7 15. Just horrific. It was just incredibly somber, the seriousness, the deep concern for steve and the others well being. This was a time for reaching out, figuring out what exactly happened. Obviously very little news at that point, but very concerned and hope for a speedy recovery for all. Did the speaker say anything to you about the incident at that point, and what do you know now about both the condition of Steve Scalise and the condition of one staffer that we understand was hit and also two Capitol Hill Police officers . You know, im just getting the news reports about the status. Obviously they say that Steve Scalise is stable. Again, dont know anything, more details about the specifics of his physical well being, but clearly this has been a shocker to us. This is an action where each morning we have a group that go off to train for this charity event. We also have charity basketball, charity soccer. This is just part of the life of trying to give back to the community. Steve scalise was very much involved with the baseball team. Theyd been going out for weeks. The neighborhood ballpark has easy access. Fortunately, he had a security detail with him because of his position, and i think those two heroes probably helped minimize the horrific damage that was done. Can you talk about scalises role in your conference and how he is viewed by the rank and file . You know, this is an elected position. Hes the number three person. You start with the speaker of the house, you have the majority leader, and then you have the whip. These are people who actually run for these posts. Theyre part of the leadership team. So it shows that he has the support of the conference, the republican gop conference to elect him to that position. Hes a nice guy. Wonderful family. I see him all the time, whether it be on the floor in his office. He hosts a member flyin dinner. So whether it be chickfila or pizza on our flyin days, hes just an engaging person, cares deeply about this institution and serving the people of louisiana. And have you gotten in i kind of notification from Capitol Police either about this incident or about security here at the capitol in the wake of it . We have. We just got an alert from the Capitol Police just in the last little bit saying to recognize there will be significant Additional Police security deployed in and around the capitol, something that theyre giving us reassurance that they are all hands on deck and also to be aware of the heightened security that will be present. No specific additional threats, hopefully. As tragic as this was, it was an isolated event by certainly Capitol Police are taking this very seriously, have notified us to be aware of the heightened security, and theyre always asking us as members to be sensitive to your environment, be careful about kind of where you go and just be safe. Does this change the way that you as a member of congress think about going out and about in the community, either here in washington or back in West Virginia . You know, it does. This is one of those teachable moments that we so often in life get on multiple occasions that cause us to pause, to think carefully about where we go, how we interact. Tragically, weve got a heightened toxic political environment out there. I dont know what the motivation of this shooter was. Hopefully well find out more and we can address the issues moving forward. I think on both democrat republican, we need to tone it down, and we need to understand that this is a very politically charged environment, and we need to take steps as elected individuals to set an example and hopefully we are also concerned about our own personal safety but just as important we need to set the right tone for all. And finally, how do you expect this day on capitol hill to be different . Clearly its not going to be business as usual. Well, weve got an aggressive agenda with bills on the floor today. Its my understanding that we are continuing with the votes as scheduled. I can assure you that when we do go to the floor, which we will today, we will have a moment of silence. We will think about what has happened. This is not something were simply going to sweep under the rug. It is something we all take very seriously. We pray for those individuals who are injured, but were also going to keep moving forward, doing the work of the people of this country. Congressman evan jenkins, republican of West Virginia, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Thank you. Norah, charlie, gayle . Nancy, thank you. Weve now received an update on the condition of the majority whip Steve Scalise. His office confirming that he was shot in the hip this morning. He was transported to medstar Washington Hospital center, where he is currently undergoing surgery. His office says that he is in stable condition. They also wanted to point out in a statement they said that prior to entering surgery, the whip was in good spirits. He spoke to his wife by phone, and he is grateful for the brave actions of the u. S. Capitol police, First Responders, and colleagues, and we ask that you keep the whip and others harmed in this incident in your thoughts and prayers and theyll be releasing Additional Information when that is appropriate. As we said from the beginning, well get information slowly coming in. In an interview with fox news, representative don de san totos told the anchor he was approached by a man in the parking lot of the congressional baseball practice before the shooting take place, and he wanted to know whether it was a republican or Democratic Practice session that was out there. This is in the parking lot. Congressman de santos said he was approached by a man who wanted to know if that was a democratic or republican practice ground. When congressman rooney joined us, he said he was wearing a tshirt that said republican on it. Some other people had on plain old baseball clothes. He wasnt sure if Steve Scalise had on a tshirt. I think he said Steve Scalise had on a uniform, did not have a shirt that said republican on it, as some of the other members on the field did. First Lady Melania Trump tweeted saying this. Thank you to the First Responders who rushed in to help protect those who were hurt in alexandria, virginia. My thoughts and prayers to everyone. Also this, the speaker of the house, republican paul ryan, tweeted this morning, the hearts of the whole house are with Steve Scalise, the brave Capitol Police staff, and all of those in harms way. Governor John Bell Edwards of louisiana says this. This appears to be an outrageous, cowardly attack on one of our own. Donna and i are praying for Steve Scalises family and all injured. There is the Law Enforcement element about what happened this morning, so lets check in now with jeff in washington. Jeff . Norah, investigators on the scene there have a lot to work with. As we look at these stunning pictures of this crime scene that involves members of congress who are also giving witness accounts to investigators as investigators there gather evidence about what happened. There are several agencies involved. Not only do you have Alexandria Police involved, but you have the Sheriffs Office involved. You have the fbi as well as Capitol Hill Police. So there are several agencies coordinateding at the scene to gather information. They are looking at bullet casings for information. They are also interviewing as many witnesses as they can. As youve heard from some of the descriptions of the scene, this was a shooter who was armed to the teeth essentially, firing at least 50 shots, according to witness accounts. Someone who had a long gun and a handgun, moving from the outfield to the infield, shooting at people on that softball field. So investigators have a lot to work with. It is early on. We know the suspect is in custody. The question is, is he talking . Is he cooperating with investigators . Because Everyone Wants to know what the motive is. If he was talking to people before or during the practice and before the shooting, trying to figure out whether there were republicans or democrats on the field, that in itself is Important Information for investigators. Also, where did he purchase these weapons . This is all something investigators are trying to track down now as they try to search for a motive and whether there are any other threats out there that they should be concerned about. Typically we know, sadly, in the world we live in members of congress often get threats, but were there any specific threats against this event itself . Thats something investigators will look into as well. Thank you, jeff. There are two patients in critical condition. Theyre not releasing any information about their identities. Norah, you just read the statement from Steve Scalises office. Were told hes in stable condition and undergoing surgery. We know that of the people that were shot so far, it was the gunman and two of the detail from Steve Scalises office. Were told one of them was shot in the leg and was returning fire even though he was wounded. And a female Police Officer was also shot. We know that a legislative aide to congressman Roger Williams of texas was shot. His name is zachary barth. According to his mother, he was shot but hes fine and being treated at the hospital. He was able to call his parents himself to let them know that he was okay. He said hed call back later. We want to show you these live pictures now. You can see atf agents. That is live at the in alexandria, virginia. As you know, a situation now were back to tape. As you can imagine, theyre there to pick up any of the casings for forensics purposes. Sounds like there will be a lot of casings. We heard reports of between 50 to 100 shots fired. Congressman brad winstrup, who was a surgeon, said it remind the him of being back in iraq. He treated congressman scalise on the scene. Want to go now to congressman dave brad a republican of virginia. He was working out in the house gym, where the speaker was, when they learned this morning this happened. Lets hear his reaction. Yeah, we were all just working out in the weight room this morning, democrats and republicans together. The news came out from one of my democratic colleagues next to me. Taps me on the shoulder and says look up there. Everybodys just in shock as we saw the first thing, scalise, whos in leadership. Then we just heard roger moore, staffers, maybe one shot in the chest, a couple officers hit. Most likely ar15, just rapid fire rounds. Senator rand paul said they were all hiding behind trees and whatever on the news. So its a terrible day, but it does one good thing that comes out of it, in the weight room, all democrats, all republicans, we all get along, everyone cares about each other, and this cuts right through it all. Something like this happens, and it shows it cuts through the media, just the politics, to the human level. All these guys are great guys. They had outrage and shock on their face. So its a unifying day. We got to get our act together on the security because it just shows were not ready to go. We want to go back to nancy cordes on capitol hill now. Charlie, weve got an statement from u. S. Capitol police saying that out of an abundance of caution, they have deployed a Robust Police presence throughout the capitol complex today. However, they say all buildings within the capitol complex are open in accordance with routine operations. I can tell you, however, that this day will be anything but routine. Some hearings that were scheduled to begin momentarily have been postponed. Members of congress are clearly trying to dial down the partisan rhetoric. There was a press conference that was scheduled this morning, for example, by democratic lawmakers who are filing a lawsuit against President Trump regarding his foreign business investment. That has now been canceled. Obviously everyone trying to show unity in a moment like this. Votes, weve been told, are at this point still expected to take place. Congressman evan jenkins, who just spoke to us a short time eggin ago, a republican from West Virginia, said there will certainly be a moment of silence at the start of those votes as members of Congress Come together to show their respect for congressman Steve Scalise, for the staffer who was shot, and also for the Capitol Police officers. All right. Nancy cordes there on capitol hill. I want to go to one of our reporters outside medstar where the majority whip is in surgery at this hour. Mike . The majority whip as well as the u. S. Capitol Police Officer who was shot in also drexandria. Weve been here for about an hour. As soon as we got here, we saw tactical vehicle from the u. S. Capitol police force show up behind me. A large black armored humvee as well as a black chevy tahoe from the u. S. Capitol Police Service swarming the e. R. All of the patients who would normally be coming here as well as families and visitors are all being screened as they enter behind me. To give you a better picture of where were standing, if we can zoom into the flashing blue lights, thats the metropolitan police car from the city of washington that is guarding the front entrance to the e. R. That is where gurneys from the level one trauma helipad enter into the e. R. About 50 yards to the right of that police car is the helipad where the u. S. Park police eagle chopper landed just before 8 00 this morning. Again, weve been here for about an hour. About 15 minutes ago we saw that chopper take off from here, but the mood is quite somber. People who have worked here since before september 11th, this is one of the Major Trauma Centers of the region, were still shocked to hear about this shooting in alexandria where, as weve been reporting, up to 100 shell casings have been found. Shocked to be seeing such a wellknown member of the shni enter the e. R. At this point, the hospital staff and spokespeople are being very closed lipped about what exactly is happening right now other than the majority bhip is in stable condition right now. Its less clear the condition for that Capitol Police officer. Again, as i move out of the shot, we do see not exactly the usual cars that are parked here. If we can somewhat look by this quiet zone sign, this is the closest were being able to get to the scene, black suvs all from the u. S. Capitol police force. I can also add that when we got here, as were trying to figure out where to park, we did see members of the u. S. Capitol police force with ar15 style assault rifles guarding the e. R. That was our first indication this was a fluid and still a very serious situation. They are still guarding there right now. We are being told within the past few minutes that were expecting a hospital briefing here at washington medstar. We will be able to go past this fence for an update on the condition of of course the majority whip as well as that Capitol Police officer who was shot. We have this report. A producer at cbs says a Law Enforcement official said that fbi is on the scene. The fbi is on the scene, which could possibly involve federal charges or a federal crime for attempted murder of a congressman. We are starting to hear now, charlie and norah, from some congressmen who were there. We still dont know how many people were on the scene this morning when the shooting broke out, but one of them was congressman joe barton, who was there with his 10yearold son, who senator flake reported was there shagging balls. Lets hear what congressman joe barton had to say. Look, we were at batting practice. We have a congressional baseball game. We play every year. A shooter came out to practice, started shooting. He shot at trent kelly, our third baseman. He shot at Steve Scalise, our second baseman. He hit Steve Scalise. Scalises security detail and Capitol Hill Police immediately began returned fire. Alexandria police also immediately came and began to return fire. They shot the shooter, and i think the security detail saved a lot of lives because they attacked the shooter. So the heroes are the Capitol Hill Police, Alexandria Police, and Steve Scalises security detail. Do you know what the shooter looked like . He was a middleaged man, blue jeans and a blue shirt. I think he was anglo. He had a rifle, and i think he had an automatic pistol, but i wouldnt swear it. Can you tell us what it must have been like in this idyllic setting . Look, theres going to be all kinds of im the manager of the team. Several People Security people were hit. One of our staffers were hit. Scalise was hit. Ive talked to the speaker. Ive talked to the Capitol Hill Police. Im sure there will be some sort of a general statement later on, but luckily no one appeared to be killed, and again, i just want to thank the security detail. Is there usually security detail . Yeah, there is. Fa[ inaudible question ]. Five to ten minutes. There was dozens of shots fired. Did you take cover . Of course we did. Some of us were in the dugout, some on the ground. My son jack got under an suv. He was very brave. My other son brad was in the batting cage, and he also was very brave. Glad you guys are okay. Thank you very much. Congressman joe barton standing there with his 10yearold son jack, clearly getting emotional when you start thinking about what could have been. The same thing happened to congressman rooney when he was on the phone talking about he had been there and left to take his children to school. Thats the first time ive heard he said the shooter was targeting first, trent kelly, whos a republican from mississippi. Then he targeted Steve Scalise, who was shot. Shot in the hip. And describing the bravery of the u. S. Capitol police, who were shot, and continued to pursue the suspect. They hear the shots ring out, and they all dive for the ground or the dugout. Then there are shots returned at the assailant. How about senator flake telling us you dont foe whos friendly and whos not so youre all running to the dugout not knowing are you with us or against us. In the heat of the moment, you dont really understand what is happening and who is doing it. Nancy cordes is with us on capitol hill. Youve spent a lot of time with these members of congress. This was interesting to see just how shaken up congressman burton was. Right, and hes very devoted to that congressional baseball team. Hes a longtime manager of the team. You saw him there with his 10yearold son. I think it was senator flake who described that bartons son was actually doing some batting practice of his own and members and staffers jumped on top of him in the dugout to protect him as these shots were ringing out. So you can imagine what an experience it was, not just for barton because of what was happening to the players on his team, but the i want to give you an update. A few moments ago, we said that there would be votes today here on capitol hill, but there might be a moment of silence beforehand. We have byebye alerted from Steve Scalises office in his capacity as member of leadership there will not be any votes on the house floor today and morning business has been postponed. We still do expect that e we will e see some kind of moment of silence on the house floor at some point today, but the members of the house of representatives will not be casting any votes in the wake of this tragedy. We certainly understand that. Were also receiving word that all events of the white house scheduled today have been