Earlier [Wednesday] morning, a lone shooter (James T. Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois) launched an ambush attack at a baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, involving Republican members of Congress who were preparing for an annual Congressional baseball game. Eyewitnesses reported that the gunman was heavily armed with a rifle, handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. As many as 100 shots may have been fired and five people were injured, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a congressional staffer and two US Capitol police officers. Our thoughts and prayers are with the survivors of this vicious incident and their families.
While few details are available, one fact is certain— law-enforcement professionals saved many lives [Wednesday]. If not for the heroic and immediate response of US Capitol police officers who were part of a protective detail on the scene, along with Alexandria police officers who responded within three minutes of the attack, many other individuals would have been either seriously injured or killed. This tragic incident is stark evidence of the vital guardian role of law-enforcement professionals in our society.
It is incidents like [Wednesday’s] horrendous attack that spotlight the true value of the law-enforcement professionals serving and protecting our nation. Most of their efforts to keep our communities safe go unnoticed until evil strikes. While the rest of us run from danger, law-enforcement professionals confront it head-on, sometimes at the cost of their own lives.
Craig W. Floyd
President and CEO
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
Our thoughts and prayers go out to my former colleagues, staff and police, especially injured House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, officers David Bailey and Crystal Greiner, congressional staffer Zachary Barth and Tyson Food’s director of government relations Matt Mika, who were the targets of a cold-blooded and senseless shooting. We thank all those officers who came to the rescue at the scene.
Xavier Becerra
California attorney general
