Republicans and Democrats have swapped political insults for friendly rivalry at their annual congressional baseball game in honour of House of Representatives politician Steve Scalise, critically injured in a shooting rampage.
"On behalf of Steve and our children, I want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for the incredible amount of prayers and warm wishes we have received since Wednesday's events", Scalise's wife, Jennifer, said in a statement Friday.
"Many lives would have been lost if not for the heroic actions of the two Capitol Police officers who took down the gunman despite sustaining gunshot wounds during a very, very brutal assault", President Donald Trump said of Griner and Bailey.
"Baseball is the American game, to be able to play it, and that's why we have to play this game tonight", said Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, who injured his ankle in the chaos Wednesday and will watch from the third-base coaching box.
The hospital said Thursday that Scalise had improved in the past 24 hours but that his condition remained critical and he would need additional operations that would keep him in the hospital "for some time". He was shot by Capitol Police and died of his injuries. Reporters in Washington tracked Scalise's every hospital update and shared it on social media.
Despite the shooting, the congressional baseball game went forward Thursday evening at Nationals Park in Washington. But at a news conference, Pelosi bristled at comments made by a few Republicans and conservative activists who blamed heated Democratic rhetoric for the incident.
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President Trump did not attend because, according to the White House, there wasn't enough time for the Secret Service to secure the area.
The shooter, identified as James T. Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector from IL, was shot and killed by Capitol Police officers who were in Scalise's security detail.
The round fragmented into hundreds of pieces and did "substantial damage" to bones, internal organs and blood vessels, Sava said.
The president says that because of the "tremendous pain and suffering he's now enduring. our country will perhaps become closer, more unified".
His aide Zack Barth, who was shot by the Virginia assailant, walked across the field on crutches.
"My dear friend Steve Scalise took a bullet for all of us", Trump said. When the members of the Republican team were announced, mention of Scalise's name drew a standing ovation throughout the stadium.
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