FBI provides more details on congressional baseball shooting, says the shooter had no connection to terrorism

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June 21, 2017 4:23 PM

Investigators found a piece of paper on the attacker's body that listed the names of six members of Congress but had no other context, the FBI said.

The FBI on Wednesday released more details on its investigation into the recent shooting at a GOP baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, saying 66-year-old James Hodgkinson acted alone and the attack did not have a "nexus to terrorism."

The shooting last Wednesday injured five, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who MedStar Washington Hospital on Wednesday said remained hospitalized but was in fair condition and "making good progress." The police shot Hodgkinson at the scene, and he later died of his injuries.

Hodgkinson had been living in his car near the Alexandria area since March, and he had told a family member he was traveling to Washington, DC, the FBI said. Shortly before he left his home in Belleville, Illinois, local police officers had responded to several complaints about target practice Hodgkinson had been conducting at his home, though they determined he had been breaking no laws.

Hodgkinson carried out the Alexandria attack using an SKS 7.62 mm rifle and a 9 mm handgun he had purchased legally, according to the FBI.

After the attack, investigators found a piece of paper on his body that listed the names of six members of Congress but contained no other context, the FBI said. The FBI did not specify which six lawmakers were named.

Investigators also found that Hodgkinson had visited his unit at a storage facility more than 43 times from April to June. The unit contained a laptop, more than 200 rounds of ammunition, the receipt for his 2016 rifle purchase, and other rifle components.

The FBI also analyzed Hodgkinson's devices and social-media accounts and said that while his posts included numerous "anti-Republican" sentiments, they appeared so far to be First Amendment-protected speech. His computer also showed Google searches the night before the shooting of a map from Alexandria to his Belleville home and of the term "2017 Republican Convention."

The FBI also confirmed an account given to the news media by Rep. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who said that as he was leaving the practice, just minutes before the shooting, Hodgkinson had approached him and asked whether the baseball players on the field were Republicans or Democrats.

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