Rep. Roger Williams' injured staff member was texting others after he was shot, "to alert others of the shooting," Williams said during a press conference Wednesday after a gunman opened fire at the Republican congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Va.
"All the time he was bleeding, we were under fire he was texting," Williams said. "He was texting, letting people know we were under fire. And we needed help."
Staffer Zack Barth was retrieving baseballs in the outfield when he was shot in the leg. He ran into the dugout where Williams was to take cover and Sen. Jeff Flake used his belt to make a tourniquet around Barth's leg to stop the bleeding while Rep. Chuck Fleischmann was on the phone yelling at a dispatcher to "hurry up and get here."
"There was a lot of heroes today among my friends," Williams said. "It is something I will not forget. It seemed like it went forever. The police say they got here in about three or four minutes, and I'm sure that's the case but it was a long time."
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot along with two law enforcement officers. The gunman, James T. Hodgkinson, died in a shootout with police. He was reportedly distraught over President Trump's election.
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