Crystal Griner, Hero In The Congressional Shooting: 5 Things To Know

ALEXANDRIA, VA — In the aftermath of the June 14 shooting at a GOP congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, Special Agent Crystal Griner was one of the Capitol Police officers hailed for her courageous actions in opening fire on the shooter. Griner and Special Agent David Bailey were injured, as well as House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, the shooter and three others.

Griner has ties to Ellicott City, where she attended Mount Hebron High School.

During the shooting in Alexandria, she was shot in the ankle. In an update from MedStar Washington Hospital Center a few days after the shooting, Griner was said to be in good condition and good spirits.

Here's what we know about Griner:
1. Griner and Bailey's actions likely saved lives.
Had the Capitol Police officers not been there, "It would have been a massacre," Sen. Rand Paul told MSNBC immediately following the shooting.

"She is amazing, and she's a hero," retired Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine told CBS News of Griner. "She epitomized what being a hero's all about."

The vice president also chimed in: "The courageous actions of Officer Crystal Griner and that of Officer David Bailey saved lives and prevented an even greater tragedy," said Vice President Mike Pence.

2. She was athletic and studious in school.
Griner majored in biology and played basketball at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, according to Heavy.com. In her freshman year, she was one of the top scorers on the team. The college posted on Facebook after the shootings that she graduated in Hood's class of 2006.

Before college, Griner was on the honor roll and played basketball at Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City. According to Heavy.com, she led the basketball team to the 2002 Howard County championship and received a coach's award in 2001. She also played softball, making First Team All-County 2001 and becoming MVP in 2001.

3. There's a GoFundMe to help pay for Griner's recovery.
A GoFundMe page recognizes Griner's heroic actions in a plea to raise money for medical expenses.

"Crystal is receiving excellent medical care and continued support from her agency," according to a statement on the fundraising page, "but the long road to recovery will result in significant expense."

The campaign seeks to raise $30,000 and has collected more than $24,000 as of Wednesday morning. The money will go directly to her family.

4. She is married to a woman.
After the shooting, social media was buzzing when Griner was identified as lesbian. She married Tiffany Gyar in May 2015 in Baltimore, according to a wedding registry. Word got out when a White House press pool report stated President Trump and First Lady Melania visited Griner and her wife in the hospital following the shooting.

Twitter users were quick to call out Scalise on his views against same sex marriage.

5. Griner is part of a protective detail for Capitol Police.
Capitol Police are responsible for protecting Congress within the Capitol, but they do serve as a protective detail for members of Congress.

Griner was at the congressional baseball practice as part of a protective detail for Scalise, the number three Republican in the House of Representatives. According to Scalise's wife, Griner and Bailey "have been family to us for years."

Matt Dinkel, a spokesman for Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle, told ABC News Capitol Police are sometimes assigned to attend the baseball practices. The Capitol Police occasionally assign an officer to attend baseball practices, on a case-by-case basis. "There's usually a Capitol Police officer in a car in a parking lot several hundred yards away, but no one on near the field like the Scalise detail was," he said.

Capitol Police started with a single watchman when Congress moved to D.C. in 1800. An official force was established at the request of President John Quincy Adams in 1827 in response to a series of incidents. The first female officers were hired in 1974.

—By Emily Leayman (Patch Staff)

Photo: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise arrives for a Special GOP Leadership Election in November 2016 with Special Agent Crystal Griner following behind. Andrew Harnik/Associated Press.