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NBC's Pete Williams: Motivations Behind Scalise Shooting Can 'Never' Be Known

October 2, 2017

NBC News justice correspondent Pete Williams said Monday that the motivations behind the June shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice are still unknown, and will never be known, despite widespread agreement that the targeting of the attack was political.

Williams was discussing Sunday's shooting in Las Vegas, and how the gunman's motivation for the attack may never be completely known. Williams then tried to tie the Las Vegas shooting investigation to the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise (R., La.).

"It would not be unheard of if at the end of all this it remains a puzzle," Williams said. "For example, just the recent shooting at the congressional baseball game here outside Washington, D.C. that wounded Steve Scalise and you know, was a devastating attack on that institution; the authorities can never say for sure what drove the gunman in that case."

"His life was falling apart, he was experiencing financial problems, he was depressed. He came here, he said, hoping to talk to federal authorities in Washington about taxes, but why he targeted Republicans, what specifically he had in mind here, they have never answered that question," Williams said.

James T. Hodgkinson, who shot and wounded two U.S. Capitol Police officers in addition to Scalise, had been a vocal Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) supporter. He had previously ranted on social media against President Donald Trump and Republicans, including Scalise specifically.

Published under: NBC , Steve Scalise