A Tyson Foods employee was injured Wednesday when an Illinois man opened fire during an early morning baseball practice for Republican members of Congress in Alexandria, Va. Matthew Mika was one of the five people who were wounded in the shooting spree. Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana was also injured.
Mika is the director of government relations for Tyson's Washington, D.C. office, according to a statement from the company. Mika has worked for Tyson for more than six years. He was taken to a local hospital.
In their statement, Tyson states the company is deeply concerned about Mika and his family.
The shooting suspect has been identified as James T. Hodgkinson of Belleville, Ill., two federal law enforcement sources confirm to NPR's Carrie Johnson. In an address from the White House, President Trump said, "the assailant has now died from his injuries."
Hodgkinson was 66 years old, according to multiple sources online. He was taken into custody at the scene of the shooting. He was a member of several online groups that took stances against Republicans and the president, the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Police initially tweeted that the suspect was among five people transported to the hospital, though Alexandria Police Chief Michael Brown later refused to confirm that. U.S. Capitol Police officers are being widely praised for helping to stop the attack.
The shooting occurred around 7 a.m. ET in the Del Ray area of Alexandria, just south of Washington, D.C., and about 8 miles from Capitol Hill. A helicopter arrived to medevac at least one victim.
The FBI is taking over the investigation, Brown said in a midmorning update, because the attack involved violence against a federal officer.
The FBI is "exploring all angles" in the case, Special Agent in Charge Tim Slater said, responding to a question about whether the attack was an act of terrorism.
Federal investigators are conducting emergency traces on two firearms — a rifle and a handgun — in connection with the shooting in Virginia, an ATF spokesman tells NPR's Carrie Johnson.
In the wake of the shooting, the House of Representatives canceled legislative business for the day, and security was increased around the White House. A public event that had been scheduled for Trump at the Labor Department on Wednesday afternoon was canceled.
Scalise was shot in the hip; his office says the lawmaker was in stable condition and undergoing surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.