Steve Scalise recounts the harrowing moments after he was shot at congressional baseball practice

(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

published 2 October 2017

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) returned to Capitol Hill last week for the first time since being shot in the hip at a Republican congressional baseball team practice in June. On the occasion of his return, Scalise recalled to Politico Magazine the harrowing moments after getting hit by the bullet: "I felt it … and I just went to the ground," he said. "I still had enough energy to start crawling — I'm crawling just to get away. And then my arms just gave out. And at that point, I'm just lying on the ground and I'm hearing gunfire. And so I just started praying. I mean, literally, just started praying. It was weird: I got almost an ease over me, because I felt like, you know what, there's nothing I can — I can't move. So I'm just going to pray to God and put in his hands."

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) tied a tourniquet for Scalise, and his quick work is credited in part for saving Scalise's life. "That night, it could have gone the other way a few times," Scalise explained. "When I got to the hospital, they said I was within a minute of death if they didn't get some blood back into my system."

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I got to know [Scalise] well [...] and learned about his various Sicilian superstitions. My favorite: Scalise always carried a fava bean in his pocket for good luck. On learning that he'd survived the shooting, it was the first thing that came to my mind — did he have a fava bean in his pocket?"No, I didn't, because it was my baseball pants," he says, shaking his head and smiling. "They don't have pockets!" He assures me, however, there are some upstairs in his hospital room.Doesn't this prove that he has good luck regardless, since he wasn't carrying a bean that day? "I had miracles," he replies. "I had angels." [Politico Magazine]

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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.

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