Police tape cordons off the scene of an early morning shooting in Alexandria, Virginia; BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images(ALEXANDRIA, Va.) — A routine early morning baseball practice among Republican members of Congress quickly turned into a terrifying scene as gunshots rang out at the field in Alexandria, Virginia, today.
At least five people, including Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., were injured in the shooting, which took place in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood. The lawmakers were practicing for tomorrow’s annual charity congressional baseball game.
A source told ABC News that Scalise was shot in the hip and his injury is not life-threatening.
The wounded were transported to George Washington Hospital, where at least two of the wounded are said to be in critical condition.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told ABC News in a telephone interview that he was in the batting cage when he heard gunshots.
“The first shot was kind of an isolated shot and everybody kind of looks up and says, ‘Hey, what’s that?'”
Then “a burst of gunfire” erupted, Paul said. “At that point, people were dropping.
Scalise was shot around second base and he crawled a little bit into the outfield.”
Paul said Scalise’s security detail exchanged fire with the active shooter.
“These guys were real heroes and I think without them everybody probably would have been killed,” Paul added. “Steve Scalise is in leadership and that’s the only reason there was security detail there at all. I’m sad that he was shot but he actually saved everybody’s life by being there.”
In an on-scene briefing, law enforcement confirmed five people were transported from the scene. Two officers also engaged in gunfire with the suspect. Capitol police were already on the scene when the shooting broke out and Alexandria, VA police were on the scene within three minutes.
In a telephone interview with CNN, Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., recalled the moment he heard the first gunfire.
“I was on deck about to hit batting practice on the third base side and I hear ‘bam,'” Brooks told CNN. “And I look around and behind third base, in the third base dugout, which is a cinder block, I see a rifle and I see a little bit of a body.”
Brooks told CNN the shooter appeared to be a white male, possibly middle-aged.
“I hear Steve Scalise over near second base scream. He was shot,” Brooks told CNN.
Brooks said he believes the gunman was using a semiautomatic rifle and estimates that 50 to 100 shots were fired.
Brooks said he took off his belt so he and another congressman could use it as a makeshift tourniquet on Scalise.
A senior member of the GOP leadership told ABC News that Scalise was hit in the hip and “should be OK.” Two members of Scalise’s security detail, as well as a staffer and a lobbyist, were shot.
The Alexandria Police Department said victims were being transported to local hospitals.
The FBI has arrived at the scene of the shooting, which is about seven miles away from the White House in Washington, D.C.
A law enforcement source told ABC News that a wounded suspect is in custody and was transported to George Washington University Hospital. The motive remains unknown.
ABC News has learned that other Republican members of Congress at the scene included Jeff Flake of Arizona, Jimmy Duncan of Tennesee, Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, Joe Barton of Texas, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Steven Palazzo of Mississippi, and Steve Pearce of New Mexico.
Another witness, Ben Childers, told “Good Morning America” that he was in his apartment when he heard the gunshots. He said he saw congressman running off the baseball field around 7:20 a.m. ET.
“There were three members that were kind of headed over towards our apartment, so we ran down and got them into our apartment so they could shelter in place,” Childers said.
“They also said that Steve Scalise had been shot and was on the ground on the baseball field.”
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