Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:06 pm
Police have identified 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson as the man who shot 5 people at a Republican practice for the congressional baseball game.
According to his Facebook page (unverified), Hodgkison appeared to be a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), but the fact that he would decide that shooting anyone was an acceptable action indicates that as is the case in most mass shooting incidents, the shooter was driven more by potential mental health issues than a logical desire to make a political statement.
Again, it must be stressed that the Facebook page info is unverified, but the details do match up with a Washington Post report on the shooter’s identity.
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Update: CBS News confirms by a photograph that the Facebook page owner is the shooter.
In a statement provided to PoltiicusUSA, Sen. Sanders sent prayers for a full recovery to Rep. Scalise along with the other victims, and urged the violence to stop, “Our prayers go out for a full recovery of Rep. Scalise, the congressional aides and police officers who were injured. We’ve got to stop the violence.”
The epidemic of gun violence doesn’t see partisan political lines. There is no red or blue. There is only the issue of a culture where guns are easily available to anyone and people view the use of a weapon as culturally acceptable.
Bernie Sanders isn’t to blame. The Republicans in Congress aren’t to blame. The problem is cultural and will take all Americans working together change America’s attitude about mass violence.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
