Senator Flake At Scene Of Virginia Shooting

Arizona's junior senator, Jeff Flake, had just taken batting practice when he heard the first shot ring out from near the third base dugout.

"All of a sudden, we heard a shot, a very loud shot," he told reporters. "Then boom, a rapid succession after that.

"He had a rifle of some type and it was a obviously large gauge rifle." (Subscribe to local news alerts on Patch).

Flake was one of around two dozen Republican members of Congress practicing for a scheduled Thursday night annual charity baseball game between Democrats and Republicans.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot as well as two Capitol Police Officers and a congressional staffer. All are expected to be okay. The shooter was killed.

Flake, who plays center field for the team, estimated that more than 50 shots were fired, according to a statement from his office.

Flake helped treat the staffer who had managed to make it into the dugout.

Once medical personnel arrived, Flake grabbed Scalise's phone and called Scalise's wife to let her know what had happened. He wanted to make sure she didn't hear it first from the media.

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images News/Getty Images