The gunman who shot at Republican lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game did not post online any threats against or references to members of Congress before the attack, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday.
Hodgkinson was "struggling in all kinds of different ways", said Slater, of the Washington Field Office.
Early on June 14, Hodgkinson sprayed an Alexandria, Virginia baseball field with gunfire, wounding number three House Republican Steve Scalise, a US Capitol Police officer, a congressional aide and a lobbyist before police shot the assailant.
She said Hodgkinson's political views had taken an "extreme, fanatic" turn in 2016; while "life moved on for other people", she said, the election had "never ended for him".
Last week, a law enforcement source told CNN that a list of names - including some Republican members of Congress - was found with the Alexandria shooter. "At this point in the investigation, the FBI does not believe there is a nexus to terrorism".
And you know the national mood has taken a turn toward the surreal when MSNBC's "Morning Joe" hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski - who helped make fellow New Yorker Donald Trump the GOP nominee and now constantly ratchet up the hate by insulting, attacking and mocking Trump and his supporters - call on the country to bring down the temperature.
Officials elaborated on Hodgkinson's long-simmering political anger about Republicans and spiraling personal problems but still have not pinpointed what motivated the unemployed home inspector from IL to travel to the Washington area, where he spent months living in his van in Alexandria before launching the shootings.
Slater said Hodgkinson had come to the Washington area in March of this year, and was living out of his vehicle, mainly in the parking lot of a YMCA near the baseball field.
Baseball shooter had list of 6 names
Inside, among his belongings, investigators found 200 rounds of ammunition and a receipt for a gun purchase in November 2016. Leaders of the FBI's Washington field office will discuss their investigative findings at a news conference Wednesday.
After the shooting, investigators searched Hodgkinson's home in IL and a storage facility in Alexandria he began renting in April.
Before Hodgkinson was brought down, he wounded U.S. Rep.
So far, investigators have not linked Hodgkinson to any radical groups, said a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. He has undergone several surgeries and received multiple blood transfusions.
There's also this incredible tidbit, which somehow has received little to no attention: "Hodgkinson also visited the office of Vermont Sen".
The Daily Caller first reported that the list, found in Hodgkinson's pocket, contained the names of Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan and Arizona Rep. Trent Franks.
Hodgkinson, suspect in shooting at Congressional baseball practice. Investigators recovered 200 rounds of ammunition from the locker, in addition to rifle components, a laptop, and a receipt for a gun purchase. Just the night before he was doing a Google Maps search plotting a return road trip to IL.
Dr. Jack Sava of MedStar Washington Hospital Center said it's a "good possibility" that the Louisiana Republican will be able to return to work in his full capacity.
Comments