Its the la thing this country needs. But its what this country could get if were not careful. And if our leaders dont respond well. Earlier today, a gunman opened fire during a republican congressional baseball practice at a park in alexandria, virginia, just a few miles from washington proper. The third most powerful House RepublicanSteve Scalise was shot and underwent immediate surgery. A lobbyist and congressional staffer were also among the injured along with two Capitol Hill Police officers who killed the gunman in a shootout and likely saved a bunch of lives. By all accounts, it was a terrifying and horrific Early Morning scene. [ gunshots ] taking batting practice and shagging balls. The gunshot went off. The next thing i heard was, run, hes got a gun. In the field, i see representative scalise is shot but moving. And hes trying to drag himself through the dirt out into the outfield. Theres a volley of fire, and i just remember seeing sam kind of gravel being kicked up by a couple bullets, i guess, and i am thinking this is very serious. And a lot of us ran to the dugout to take cover. Scalise is security detail and Capitol Hill Police immediately began to return fire. I actually left right before the shooting happened. And had an interaction with who i believe was the shooter based on the profile that i saw on tv. Someone in the parking lot who asked me if the Team Practicing was democrat or republican team. I told him they were republicans. He said okay, thanks. Turned around. I got in the car and left. Found out that my colleagues were targeted by an active shooter today. That gunman has been identified as james hodgkinson. A 66yearold from illinois. He has a history of arrests and was charged in 2006 with battery. As you heard in that clip, congressman duncan says the shooter asked if the players on the field were republicans or democrats before opening fire. Hodgkinson apparently had Strong Political views. A fierce critic of the Republican Party and basically a big supporter of Bernie Sanders. Senator sanders today took to the senate floor to tell us more. I have just been informed that the alleged shooter at the republican baseball practice this morning is someone who apparently volunteered on my president ial campaign. I am sickened by this despicable act. I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. So as that was dropped into this tinderbox, leaders from both parties today pleaded for some unity. We may have our differences, but we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in our nations capitol is here because above all, they love our country. We are strongest when we are unified and when we Work Together for the common good. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. Lets just slow down and reflect. To think about how were all being tested right now, because we are being tested right now. I ask each of you to join me to resolve to come together. To my colleagues, you will hear me Say Something you have never heard me say before. I identify myself with the remarks of the speaker. But folks, the fear is, is it too little too late . Partisans from both sides are trying to make the shooting a referendum on the other partys viciousness. What does that say about party leadersh leadership. Some porters are trying to pin it on gun rights, and some republicans are trying to blame it on hostility on the left. We have had an increasing intensity of hostility on the left. Look, i talk to College Students regularly who say to me, if they openly are for trump, they get threatened. You have had a series of things which send signals that tell people that its okay to hate trump. Its okay to think of trump in violent terms. Its okay to consider assassinating trump. And then suddenly were supposed to rise above it. Until the next time . Folks, some want to blame the left or the right, or us in the media. But heres who it seems too many folks dont want to blame, themselves. We are all to blame. This toxic stew that passes for political discourse seems beyond repair in the current moment. Just look at social media. For too long, our collective politics has demonized the other side for caustic behavior while rationalizing that same behavior when it comes from someone who shares their politics. Maybe we ought to borrow another phrase when were asked to do, when you see something, Say Something. For political leaders, when you see caustic behavior, why dont you Say Something . Im joined by pete williams. Lets go through what we know right now. I guess how long was this shooter planning this attack . Because all of the anecdotal coming out, this seemed not only was it planned today but maybe for some time. I dont know the answer to that because the federal authorities tell me they dont know the answer to that. Lets go back on a couple points that have been confusing all day long. There were four people shot today. Given the number of rounds that were apparently expended based on eyewitnesses, thats quite a remarkable thing. The congressman Steve Scalise, another congressional staffer, a staffer from another congressman, a staffer named zach barth, a lobbyist matt mika and a Capitol Hill Police officer. And then of course, the gunman himself was shot and killed. A second congressman, representative Roger Williams of texas, injured a leg and an ankle, and another Capitol Police officer also was injured but not shot. So thats the first thing. Secondly, the gunman, 66yearold james hodgkinson, belleville, illinois. A home inspector who let his professional license lapse last fall. He was a prolific writer to the paper, always railing about republicans. His facebook postings are filled with harsh criticisms of republicans. He was bitter about the election of trump. He had campaigned for Bernie Sanders last year and his relatives say he was very upset about the trump election. But why he came here and precisely when is still unknown. We talked to many witnesses who say that hes been hanging around that area. He was often at a ymca thats directly across the street from the ballpark where todays shooting took place. He had been at other local businesses nearby. One question was, was he homeless . Did he have some place to live . Theyre trying to run that down now. No obvious answer to that question right now. Was he living out of his car . That, we dont know the answer to that. And back to your question, why did he come here . Did he come here intending to do Something Like this . All the people who have talked to him that have encountered him say he was very pleasant. He was curious. He was asking the former mayor where can i get a job . What could i do . What are good places to eat. And everyone who has come in contact with him describes him that way, not as a hot head. The congressman from his district in illinois said he was a frequent penpal, somebody who wrote and called a lot, at least ten times but was never threatening. Very persistent in his views. So i think the simple answer to your question is they dont know yet. Lets talk big picture here. Look, the Capitol Police is primarily responsible for security when it comes to members of congress. I know leadership, they get details. Others dont. The fact of the matter is, members of Congress Deal with these threats on a daily basis. Who handles it . Who do they report to . Is it an fbi that runs it down, is it Capitol Police that runs these threats down . How is that handled and is it done in a way that is comforting to those members of congress . Number one, just to be clear, we dont know of any threats before this shooting happened today. On this, yes. So in terms of threats made to members of congress, sometimes the u. S. Capitol Police Investigate them. Sometimes the fbi. Theres no clear answer to that. I have seen cases in the past, and it depends. You know, members of congress, i used to work as a congressional staffer in both the house and senate. Its just the nature of the job. You get goofy phone calls from people and have to make a decision about whether theyre serious or not. Sometimes its the feds. Sometimes the Capitol Police, chuck. All right, pete williams. Im going to let you go there. Thanks very much. Now let me go to the political side of things. Bring our capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt in. You have been running around the hill. We saw a lot of unity today. Just give me a sense. I have seen, its been very emotional, it seems, on capitol hill today in a way we havent seen in some time. Paint a picture. Thats true, without a doubt, chuck. It has been a very emotional day. And i think its been very clear that these members are really shaken up. I have seen i have watched members from different parties hug each other, seemingly spontaneously in the hallways. I had one or two people hug me. You know, especially in the early hours of this when there was not a lot of information known about this. And you have seen many of these members get very visibly emotional. I have seen at least three of the members who were at this game doing interviews either with me or with other reporters grow visibly emotional, tearing up. Congressman joe barton just now in a press conference talking about his son jack who essentially grew up around these members of congress. He was born when barton was the chairman of the energy and Commerce Committee and he talked about how he takes him on the floor and talks to members of both sides of the aisle and theyre all excited hes there. That, i think, is the spirit that is imbuing the capitol today. There was a question at the press conference about whether or not this spirit might last. And congressman barton said he absolutely thought this was something that had shaken people enough to potentially permanently change the way relationships are here, but at the same time, he and his democratic colleague, the other coach on the democratic side, said look theres a lot of fundamental changes. Technology makes that a whole lot harder. Chuck. In the closed door meeting with all house members, we heard that lots of issues about the security qstion have come up. Whether its where district offices are located, you know, should they be in Federal Buildings, courthouses perhaps . Do members need more protection when they leave the capitol and things like this. Obviously, this is a resource question. Whats been that conversation . Has this hit Critical Mass where there is a Majority Movement here to do something . Well, chuck, i think that right now, its not clear exactly what the answer to that might be. I think historically, members have felt less safe in their districts because theyre not in a building, were surrounded every day by Police Officers on every corner of these buildings. I think part of what happened today is that the confidence they were safer in washington has been shattered a little bit. Thats different from what theyre used to dealing with. But i do think there are a few things that are under discussion. Youre right that Federal Buildings is one of them. If you put the office there, its still accessible to the public, but security is built in. Everyone coming in has to pass through a metal detector or something similar to that. And i have talked to one member about this so far, but it was theres apparently a prohibition in the house rules on using money from your Office Budget to pay for security for yourself, for your staff, or for your family. And i think thats something that members have started to talk about that maybe that prohibition should be lifted. I think, of course, the concern is that would cost additional money. Maybe spending that money is not seen as politically tenable. That was one of the other complaints we heard in the press conference, all these things that used to brings people together are not allowed. This might be something where constituents are saying why am i spending all this money to protect his family . I think thats something some members would like to see. I do think they are actually as worried about their family members or if not more so than they are about themselves in many cases because i have talked to some members who are threats on their facebook pages against members of their family or people showing up at their houses. All these guys and gals are worried about their family as much as themselves. Kasie hunt, thank you very much. Let me bring in tonights panel. Helene cooper, she lives blocks from todays snend. David french is a Senior Writer at national review. He also served in iraq. And ruth marcus is editor at the washiton post. Helene, let me start with you. Youre geographically located, just tell me your first thoughts when you heard and then sort of digest today and sort of what do you think the fallout of this is going to be on our politics now or at least our discourse . Well, i woke up this morning to the Police Sirens, but you know, we hear Police Sirens all the time, so i didnt really pay much attention to that. But then when i started seeing the traffic on my cell phone and on my laptop about a shooting in del ray, i was pretty shocked because, you know, its such a cliche. Nothing ever happened in this neighborhood. But this really is very much a very thats what i think is kind of interesting about this. This is a very democratic neighborhood. Its probably one of the bluest places in virginia. And yet, for some reason, the republicans, the Republican Congressional Softball Team has been practicing at that Eugene Simpson field for ten years now and theyre always out there in their red shirts with republican written right across. I thought that was pretty interesting when one of my neighbors pointed that out to me this morning. I went down there, of course, with a lot of the other reporters, and its a very kind of out of body experience to be right in front of your normal coffee shop, in front of my own ymca, and seeing it as a crime scene. I think its been really interesting seeing how washington has sort of appeared, at least today, to come together on this, whether that lasts or not, i guess im a little cynical and kind of skeptical as to how long this unity is going to last, but theyre talking right now about having a unity run down mt. Vernon avenue this evening at 6 30 from the Community School all the way to lenas italian restaurant. Im going to see if i can check it out later today. Its kind of a weird thing. In washington, were used to writing about this from a ance. Right. Look, iss a great day to have you, david french, here because youre not in washington. You dont live here. Live in d. C. Look, i made the case that i viewed this as an inevitable, unfortunately. Something like this. We were going to see the caustic political environment turn potentially turn violent. Did you share that view . Not only i mean, i would say youre understating it a little bit in calling it inevitable. I think the caustic political environment had already turned violent. And now its just extended straight into the greater washington, d. C. Area. I mean, look. Theres no doubt that were in a political environment right now where some of the rhetoric is the kind of rhetoric that inspires. Im not going to say incites because those are two different words with two different meanings, that inspires people to act out violently. When youre talking about things like phrases like civil war, when youre talking about the policies kill people, you know, these things can cause some people to hear the words and apply them, often quite literally. And thats one of the things that i think is happening in our nation. And weve seen it elsewhere. We just hadnt seen it hit official washington in the way that it has. And this should be an alarm bell in the night towards people. This should be an alarm bell, not to restrict free speech in any way, shape, or form, but an alarm bell to exercise a degree of responsibility and understanding of the humanity of your opponent as another person created in the image of god who enjoys the blessings of american liberty and is entitled to blessings of american liberty as much as my side is, as my tribe is. Thats well put. Mo brooks today, who was used his belt to apply a tourniquet to Steve Scalise, and we may find out he ended up saving his life at some point. I thought he put outating state, i want to get your response to it. He writes this, talking about all the different parts, ways people are blaming left and right of what we have here. He writes, the Second Amendment is a right to bear arms, is to insure we always have a republic. With any constitutional provision in the bill of rights, there are adverse aspects to each of those rights we enjoy as people, and what we saw here is one of the bad side effects of someone notxercisinghose rights properly. But were not going to get rid of freedom of speech because some people say some really ugly things that hurt other peoples feelings. Were not going to get rid of the Fourth Amendment search and seizure rights because it allows some criminals to go free that should be behind bars. I thought it was an important point there, ruth, that its sort of like, were all going to jump the gun and look for a quick cure here when really its about Political Leadership and common sense. Well, i think theres a lot of gun jumping and maybe gun jumping isnt the best phrase to use on a terrible day like this. In peoples reactions to this. I guess i look at it and i think that insanity knows no political ideology. And youre going t