Mo Brooks describes shooting at baseball park: Explosions, then a race for cover

Mo Brooks rode his bicycle to the Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Alexandria, Virginia, at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday to practice for the upcoming congressional charity baseball game. 

The Republican congressman from Huntsville, a former all-city baseball player in high school, was looking forward to it. It was a relief, he said, from the pressures of lawmaking. 

“If you ever see the movie ‘The Rookie,’ it’s kind of like that,” Brooks said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “You get to play baseball and get to set aside the stress of the moment for all the policy challenges our nation faces.” 

The congressman plays outfield and said he usually spends time in left field for fielding practice. But Wednesday, Brooks decided to go in early for batting practice. He walked to home plate, toward the fencing of the park, about 10 to 15 feet high. 

Brooks waited for his turn while Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., took his swings. Brooks was standing on the third base line. Davis finished up his time at the plate, and Brooks was about to take his.

Then, from behind, he heard an explosion. 

He turned. Down the baseline, past a dugout, a middle-age man had pushed a rifle through the chain-link fence, firing toward second base and the outfield.

“He was not saying anything,” Brooks said. “He was just blasting away with his gun, shooting rapidly.” 

Bedlam erupted on the field. Brooks heard someone scream “active shooter.” Someone else yelled “take cover.” In the chaos, Brooks heard a yell from Steve Scalise, a Republican congressman from Louisiana and the House Majority Whip, standing at second base. 

He quickly realized that the shooter, despite shooting into the outfield, wouldn’t have to move his gaze very far to target those near home plate. He raced toward some blue plastic.

“I take a dive,” he said. “I skidded a little bit on the dirt, came up against the plastic. There were two or three other people with me.”

The shooting continued. Brooks could see Scalise gesturing toward right field. Those behind the blue plastic realized they were hidden from view, but “sitting ducks” if the shooter came onto the field. Quickly they made a break for the first-base dugout. 

“I don’t know if I hit anybody or not,” Brooks said. “I was getting as low as I could as fast as I could.”

The goal was to get to a gate near the dugout. In the dugout was Zachary Barth, an aide to U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas. 

“I look at Zack’s leg, I say, ‘Zack, you’ve been hit,'” Brooks said. “He said ‘It’s no big deal.’ I said ‘Zack, you’ve been shot.'”

Brooks’ belt was removed, and Brooks and another in the dugout tied a tourniquet around Barth’s leg. 

The firing continued. 

They planned to roll over and try to make a break for the gate when, above them, they heard another explosion. David Bailey, a Capitol Police officer, had drawn his pistol and was firing at the shooter. 

At first, Brooks said, he thought they were pinned down. Then he realized it was the police.

“Thank goodness the good guys are here,” Brooks recalled thinking. It was the only time the congressman became emotional in a 25-minute interview. 

Gunfire kept crossing the field. Time slowed to a crawl, and the congressman couldn’t say how long they were there. “Probably what was 10 seconds might have seemed like 60,” he said. 

Then: “Shooter down.”

Brooks emerged from the dugout. Scalise had crawled from second base to the outfield grass, leaving a blood trail. Brooks went to him with others on the field. He could see a patch of blood on his hip. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, a medical doctor, provided first aid on the field; Brooks helped hold a cloth in place to stop the bleeding. Officer Bailey, wounded in the exchange, came out to check on Scalise.

The shooter was identified as James T. Hodgkinson, 66, of Illinois. Witnesses said Hodgkinson asked before the shooting if he was looking at the Republican team or the Democratic one. 

Scalise went into surgery following the shooting. 

MedStar Washington Hospital Center provided the following update on Scalise’s condition:

“Congressman Steve Scalise sustained a single rifle shot to the left hip. The bullet traveled across his pelvis, fracturing bones, injuring internal organs, and causing severe bleeding. He was transported in shock to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, a Level I Trauma Center. He underwent immediate surgery, and an additional procedure to stop bleeding. He has received multiple units of blood transfusion. His condition is critical, and he will require additional operations.”

Besides Bailey and Barth, Matt Mika, director of governmental relations for Tyson Foods, and Officer Crystal Griner were wounded. 

The game will go on Thursday night. Brooks says he plans to play.

“We should not let lone wolf shooters or terrorists have the satisfaction of stopping America from being America, stopping us from what we would normally do,” he said.

Deborah Berry contributed to this report.