Jeff Flake used Steve Scalise's phone to call Scalise's wife so she wouldn't see the news on TV first
One of the many heroes to emerge when a gunman opened fire on Republican lawmakers' baseball practice Wednesday was Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz). Flake recounted to reporters that Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) was playing second base when he was hit in the hip by a bullet; unable to run to cover, Scalise reportedly began to drag himself into the outfield to try to get away.
"We couldn't get to him until the shooting stopped," a visibly-shaken Flake recalled.
Flake added that he was the first out to Scalise when the gunfire stopped. "Brad [Wenstrup, an Ohio representative], who's a physician, [also] came out and we applied pressure on the wound … [Scalise] seemed coherent the whole time."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Flake then took Scalise's phone and called Scalise's wife, so she wouldn't first hear the news of her husband being shot on TV when she woke up.
Read The Week's coverage of the shooting here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Mixed nuts: RFK Jr.’s new nutrition guidelines receive uneven reviewsTalking Points The guidelines emphasize red meat and full-fat dairy
-
Will regulators put a stop to Grok’s deepfake porn images of real people?Today’s Big Question Users command AI chatbot to undress pictures of women and children
-
‘All of these elements push survivors into silence’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
A peek inside Europe’s luxury new sleeper busThe Week Recommends Overnight service with stops across Switzerland and the Netherlands promises a comfortable no-fly adventure
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
