Senior US congressman Steve Scalise shot at Virginia baseball practice: Lawmaker

The third-highest ranked US House Republican and at least four others were injured on Wednesday morning in a shooting at a congressional baseball practice field in an Alexandria, Virginia neighbourhood, witnesses said.

President Donald Trump said he and Vice President Mike Pence were monitoring developments closely. Alexandria police said a suspect was in custody.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot in the hip, Representative Mo Brooks said in a phone interview on CNN after witnessing the shooting.

Brooks said he saw a white male with a rifle. A congressional staffer and two members of the lawmakers’ security detail were also injured, Brooks said. “There must have been 50, 100 shots fired,” Brooks said.

Brooks said members of the security detail fired back with pistols at the shooter until the shooter was tackled to the ground.

Brad Wenstrup, a Republican congressman who served as a military surgeon in Iraq, attended to Scalise after the shooter was down, Brooks said on CNN.

Brooks said he and other lawmakers tried to apply a tourniquet with his belt for one injured person who was bleeding, he said.