U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), April 2012.
Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake witnessed Wednesday morning’s shooting at a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Va., right outside of Washington.
After helping two victims, including U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, Flake said he got a phone call from the husband of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
"I’ve already heard from Mark Kelly ... I traveled down to Tucson when she was shot, so that was obviously a horrible scene as well," Flake told NPR.
Flake and Giffords had been friends since both served in the Arizona Legislature more than a decade ago. Flake was serving in the U.S. House as was Giffords, starting her third term, when she was wounded by a man who killed six people and wounded another 12 at a congressional constituency meeting Jan. 8, 2011.
Flake was not hurt in the Wednesday shooting. "I’m doing OK," he said, "just a little blood around."
The first-term senator said until Giffords was shot he had not thought about his safety as a member of Congress.
"I’ve thought more of it since but I wasn’t thinking of it today," he told NPR. "It certainly is not something that is in your every thought."
Flake said he was standing on the field when he heard a shot, followed by several more. He said members of a security detail returned fire. The detail was at the practice because Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, is the third-ranking member of the majority.
A statement from Flake's office said he estimated more than 50 shots were fired, and he took cover in a dugout. The statement said after helping Scalise, he called Scalise's wife to inform her and then called his own wife, who was in Washington.
Scalise and four others were wounded. Law enforcement officials said that the gunman also was wounded by police officers. President Donald Trump announced, a few hours after the shooting, that the gunman died.
Giffords issued a statement through Americans for Responsible Solutions, the organization she and Kelly founded after the 2011 shooting to advocate for gun control and an end to gun violence.
“It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican, nor if you're a senator or a representative, nor a staffer or a sworn officer," Giffords' statement said. "If you serve the institution of Congress, you're connected to your colleagues, current and former, by a shared sense of service to ideals far greater than yourself. This shooting is an attack on all who serve and on all who participate in our democracy."
She said she was "heartbroken for the pain of Congressman Scalise, the other victims, and their family, friends, and colleagues who survived."
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