Rep. Brad Wenstrup on baseball practice shooting: 'It felt like I was back in Iraq, but without my weapon'

Emergency vehicles at scene of shooting.

(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

published 14 June 2017

At least five people were wounded when a gunman opened fire at Republican lawmakers' baseball practice Wednesday morning in Alexandria, Virginia, including Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (La.). The members were practicing for the upcoming annual congressional baseball game.

Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a former combat surgeon in Iraq, was at the practice and described the scene to Fox News. "I felt like I was back in Iraq, but without my weapon," Wenstrup said. Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks said other members "deferred to [Wenstrup's] judgment on what to do" and described Wenstrup as using "some kind of scissors device" to cut through Scalise's pants to treat his wound. "We were very lucky" Wenstrup was there, Brooks said.

Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) said he was the first member to reach Scalise where he'd fallen in the outfield, and that he and Wenstrup together "applied pressure" to Scalise's wound. Flake said Scalise "seemed coherent the whole time." Scalise was shot in the hip and is reportedly undergoing surgery for the wound.