A Capitol Crime Committed By A Coward

Reports this morning are that a gunman opened fire at a Virginia baseball field where several House GOP members were taking ball practice for the annual House baseball game.  Louisiana GOP Rep. Steve Scalise was shot in the hip and two Capitol Police officers were also shot and wounded.

Rep. Steve Scalise was shot Wednesday morning in Alexandria, Virginia, a House colleague told CNN, in what sources are calling an apparent "deliberate attack." 

The shooting took place at a practice for the GOP congressional baseball team. 

Scalise, a member of the House Republican leadership as the majority whip, appeared to have been shot in the hip and it appeared two Capitol Hill police agents were shot, according to Rep. Mo Brooks, who told CNN he was on deck when the shooting occurred.

According to both congressional and law enforcement sources, the shooting appears to be a "deliberate attack." 

Two law enforcement sources told CNN the shooter, who is in police custody, has been taken to a hospital. 

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who was at the practice, told CNN "it would have been a massacre" had Capitol Police not been present. 

"Nobody would have survived without the Capitol Hill police," Paul said on CNN. "It would have been a massacre without them." 

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake added that he saw a member of Scalise's security detail return fire on the gunman for what felt like 10 minutes, even though the police officer was wounded in the leg. 

"50 (shots) would be an understatement, I'm quite sure," Flake said when asked about the total amount of gunfire, including police returning fire. 

Flake said two members of Scalise's security detail were wounded, and another man was wounded in the chest. 

Once they were able, Flake said he and Rep. Brad Wenstrup, who is a physician, went out to where Scalise was lying after dragging himself away from the shooting to apply pressure to the wound. Scalise was coherent the whole time, Flake said. 

The President is monitoring the situation, the White House said in a statement.

Don't care which side of the political fence you're on, opening fire on people, elected officials or otherwise, makes you a scumbag asshole.  It looks like the gunman was taken down and is in custody, and I hope there's a nice little concrete box waiting for him for the next 50 years.  

As far as I'm concerned, this is as awful as Rep. Gabby Gifford's attempted assassination in Arizona a few years back.  Capitol Police are there for a reason folks, and they did their job.  I don't politically agree with Scalise, but in no way in any universe is this anything other than a criminal act perpetrated by an absolute coward.  Rand Paul is right, it would have been a massacre without the Capitol Police there.

But somebody decided to take the bullet box over the ballot box route.  That is never, I repeat never, acceptable in any way.