Rep. Gary Palmer: We 'should've realized' that congregating en masse 'made us a target'

A gunman fired roughly 50 rounds at Republican lawmakers Wednesday morning in Alexandria, Virginia, where the senators and Congress members were practicing for the upcoming annual congressional baseball game. At least five people were shot, including Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who is undergoing surgery for a hip wound. The gunman was reportedly subdued by Capitol Police, who were on the scene within three minutes.

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) was playing shortstop at the practice when he told Roll Call's Bridget Bowman he heard a shot. "We probably should've realized that having this many members of Congress congregated in one place made us a target," Palmer said.

Scalise's presence at the baseball field was the only reason Capitol Police were nearby in the first place, as his status as a member of House leadership means he travels with a police detail at all times. Scalise's security officers reportedly returned fire at the gunman, which Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) told CNN likely prevented "a large-scale massacre. All we would've had would've been baseball bats against a rifle. Those aren't good odds."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Read The Week's full coverage of Wednesday's shooting here.