Congressional Baseball Practice Gets More Security In Del Ray

Lawmakers returned to practice Wednesday for the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park, where a gunman opened fire on the Republican practice on June 14, 2017.

Nearly a year after the shooting, the team gathered at the park in Del Ray. The practices will have heightened security this year, meaning access to the baseball field will be limited for the public, NBC Washington reported. Capitol Police officers had been present during the shooting as part of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise's security detail. Lawmakers have said the presence of the Capitol Police prevented the shooting from becoming a massacre.

Scalise, the most seriously injured in the shooting, was not present at the practice but prepared a statement. "It is so important we that we continue this tradition," Scalise said in a statement that team manager Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) read at the practice, reported Politico.

Scalise, who was shot in the hip, went to the hospital in critical condition. Capitol Police officers Crystal Griner and David Bailey, legislative aide Zach Barth and lobbyist for Tyson Foods Matt Mika were also injured by the gunman.

Lawmakers and aides on last year's team were present at the practice, including Mike and Barth, who said he was ready to get "back to baseball," Politico reported.

“I’m very proud of the team, very proud of their resiliency," Barton told reporters, according to WJLA.

Despite an ever divided political climate, lawmakers hope both sides can come together for the annual charity game. At last year's game, Republicans and Democrats stood together to pray as a record number of spectators turned up to watch.

"What the event did was change a lot of people's hearts, how precious life is," team coach Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) told reporters, according to Politico. "But from apolitical standpoint, it hasn't changed any of the rhetoric. It's as divided as it's ever been."

First responders assisting on the day of the shooting were there to mark the team's return to Simpson Stadium Park.

The gunman, James T. Hodgkinson of Illinois, was believed to have targeted Republicans and had a Facebook page criticizing the GOP President Trump. Hodgkinson fired at least 70 rounds died from his injuries after exchanging fire with the Capitol and Alexandria Police officers that day.

This year's Congressional Baseball Game will happen on June 14, the one-year anniversary of the shooting.

Image via Patch editor Emily Leayman