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Illinois man, James T. Hodgkinson, named as suspect in shooting at congressional baseball practice which left five injured, including House Majority Whip, Steve Scalise – Shooter reportedly dead from injuries

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Suspect in congressional baseball practice shooting, Wednesday morning, identified as James T. Hodgkinson 
shooting at a congressional baseball practice left five wounded, including House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise, on as
66-year-old Hodgkinson is a licenced Home Inspector from Belleville, Illinois.
Suspect opened fire on a GOP congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Va 
Two capitol police officers, congressional aide and lobbyist also injured in attack  
Hodgkinson reportedly, has died in hospital from his injuries
James T. Hodgkinson2.jpgLaw enforcement officials identified James T. Hodgkinson as the shooter at congressional ballgame practice, Wednesday morning
Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise1.jpgMajority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise was shot in the hip by Hodgkinson in the early morning shooting rampage

Hodgkinson was shot by Capitol Police and Alexandria Police, apprehended and taken to the hospital, officials said. The incident occurred at Simpson Field in Alexandria, about 10 miles from Washington D.C. The FBI was taking over the investigation because a federal official — Scalise — was assaulted in the attack.
James T. Hodgkinson, it has been reported, later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

Suspect in congressional baseball practice shooting2.Security officials block access to the stadium after Wednesday morning’s Shooting at a GOP congressional baseball practice
“Trump is a Traitor,” Hodgkinson wrote as a caption with an article shared on March 22. “Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.”

According to his Facebook page, the suspect graduated from Southwestern Illinois College in 1971, listing he studied flight training and aviation technology. Hodgkinson is also the former owner of JTH Inspections, a company listed on Yelp as specializing in home inspections.
“James was thorough and professional,” a Yelp review of Hodgkinson read. His Facebook lists that he left his position with JTH Inspections in December 2016.

Injured person being evacuated from site of congressional baseball practice2An injured person is evacuated by EMTs from the scene after a gunman fired on a GOP congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria
Suspect in congressional baseball practice shooting5Security officer stands beside SUV with it’s windows shot out in the fire fight
 
The man suspected of firing dozens of rounds into an Alexandria baseball field Wednesday morning has been identified by federal law enforcement officials as James T. Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Ill.
Hodgkinson was a licensed home inspector in Illinois according to public records, but his license lapsed last November. A web page on Yelp indicates that Hodgkinson has been doing home inspections since 1994, and has 30 years experience in construction and remodeling as a general contractor, and that he worked in both Missouri and Illinois. Belleville is a suburb of St. Louis.

James T. Hodgkinson4.jpgJames T. Hodgkinson seemed to be quite an activist
James Hodgkinson Facebook.pngHodgkison’s Facebook page  includes several mentions of Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders

A Facebook page belonging to a person with the same name includes pictures of Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, and rhetoric against President Trump, including a post that reads: “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.”
Charles Orear, 50, a restaurant manager from St. Louis, said in an interview Wednesday that he became friendly with Hodgkinson during their work together in Iowa on Sanders’s campaign.
Orear said Hodgkinson was a passionate progressive and showed no signs of violence or malice toward others.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Orear said when told by phone about the shooting.
Orear described Hodgkinson as a “quiet guy” who was “very mellow, very reserved” when they stayed overnight at the home of a Sanders’s supporter in Rock Island, Ill., after canvassing for the Vermont senator.
“He was this union tradesman, pretty stocky, and we stayed up talking politics,” he said. “He was more on the really progressive side of things.”
When informed that the suspect’s Facebook page prominently features Sanders’s image, the senator’s spokesman Michael Briggs said: “Our prayers go out for a full recovery of Rep. Scalise, the congressional aides and police officers who were injured. We’ve got to stop the violence.”
Hodgkinson was among those taken to a hospital Wednesday. FBI special agent in charge Tim Slater said at a news conference that he did not know the condition of the suspected shooter.

 James T. Hodgkinson3.jpgWednesday morning’s shooter allegedly is 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson who died later in hospital from the injuries he sustained when security officers returned fire 
James T. Hodgkinson6.jpgJames T. Hodgkinson was a licensed home inspector

“With a background of over 30 years in construction, it was a logical & relatively easy move to becoming a Home Inspector,” he or someone affiliated with him apparently wrote on Yelp.
Hodgkinson reportedly opened fire on a group of Congressmen and their staff as they practiced for a congressional baseball game, wounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and a staff member of Rep. Patrick Williams, as well as two Capitol Police officers assigned to protect Scalise.
Hodgkinson reportedly, first asked the group of lawmakers “whether it was Republicans or Democrats that were out there,” two lawmakers said.
Speaking to Fox Business Rep. Ron DeSantis [R-Fla], recounted encountering the would be shooter earlier: “We reported to police that there was a gentleman that confronted us when we were going to our car and he wanted to know whether it was Republicans or Democrats that were out there,” DeSantis said of the 7:10 a.m. parking-lot encounter in Alexandria, Va.
“We said it was Republicans and he kind of started walking to the field,” he added. “I don’t know that that was the guy, but I think it was important to put that information out there and it was a little bit different that someone would do that. He was really interested in wanting to know who was out there.” A short while later, the man who made the inquiry, shot and hit five people during the early morning baseball practice. Hodgkinson fired more than 50 shots, authorities and witnesses said.

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