A gunman opened fire on Republican lawmakers on Wednesday morning, wounding several people including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R., La.).
Scalise was shot in the hip and is in stable condition, according to his office. Two Capitol police officers were shot in addition to a staff member from Rep. Roger Williams' (R., Tex.) office. The gunman was shot and taken into custody, according to law enforcement officials.
The shooting occurred at a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia's Del Ray neighborhood. The lawmakers were practicing for their annual bi-partisan congressional baseball game, which raises money for a local Washington, D.C. charity.
News of the shooting spread on social media, and some were quick to politicize the shooting.
The senior editor of the Atlantic sent out factually incorrect tweets about Virginia's gun laws.
Virginia:
No background checks
No licensing
No registration
No permit req’d for concealed carry of long guns
Open carry long guns & handguns— David Frum (@davidfrum) June 14, 2017
He followed up with another tweet a few minutes later.
There was a terrible fire in London.. Would any British person say in the aftermath 'this is not the time to discuss fire safety?"
— David Frum (@davidfrum) June 14, 2017
Fusion anchor Jorge Ramos asked how many shootings have to occur until something is done about it.
So how many shootings until we do something about it?
¿Cuantos tiroteos necesitamos para hacer algo al respecto?— JORGE RAMOS (@jorgeramosnews) June 14, 2017
Others on social media shared their thoughts about the shooting.
If the shooter has a serious health condition then is taking potshots at the GOP house leadership considered self defense?
— Malcolm Harris (@BigMeanInternet) June 14, 2017
Nope nope nope you can't use "respect for human life" to defend GOP house leadership. That's just bad math.
— Malcolm Harris (@BigMeanInternet) June 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/874963270645329920
https://twitter.com/Montel_Williams/status/874962301790691329
https://twitter.com/JimMacMillan/status/874963196213374976
Democrats, this is on you.
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) June 14, 2017
Donald Trump, Jr. also weighed in on Twitter. He highlighted a tweet that connected Wednesday's shooting to a play that depicted the assassination of his father, President Donald Trump.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 14, 2017