US lawmaker shot at baseball practice

Steve Scalise, majority whip of the US house of representatives, has been shot at a Republican baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia.

Mo Brooks, a lawmaker, who was a witness to the incident, told CNN that the whip was shot in the hip.

Brooks, a Republican from Alabama, said there were a number of congressmen and congressional staffers lying on the ground, and at least one of them was wounded.

“The gun was a semi-automatic. It continued to fire at different people. You can imagine, all the people on the field scatter,” he said.

The lawmaker said the shooter appeared to be a white male who was behind the third base dugout.

It is believed that the shooting may be a “deliberate attack”.

Alexandria police in a series of tweets said on Wednesday said that they were responding to a “multiple shooting” in the city and the suspect who is in custody “is not a threat”.