Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., said members of Congress will have to think through security more thoroughly in the wake of Wednesday morning’s shooting at Republicans’ baseball practice in Alexandria, Va.
“We’re going to have to make sure our trips and our big events, we’re thinking through things a little more thoroughly altogether,” Brat said in an interview Wednesday on CNN. “It’s unfortunate, but that’s the world we live in.”
A shooter opened fire during the baseball practice Republicans were holding in preparation for Thursday’s annual congressional baseball game.
Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot in the hip, and others, including congressional staffers and members of Scalise’s security detail, were also injured.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was at the practice and said had it not been for the detail that accompanies Scalise — the No. 3 Republican in the House — the shooting would have been a “massacre.”
Few members of Congress travel with Capitol Hill police officers, and Brat said members need to do a “better job of thinking through the security risks” following this morning’s shooting, particularly during townhalls that members hold in their districts.
“You’ve got 1,000 folks, people who want to give you their views as constituents. But the security thing now is going to be ramped up to a new level,” he said. “It takes just one person who is off the rails on a certain day, and it’s not good.”
The question-and-answer sessions, especially this year, have drawn thousands of voters looking to speak with their member of Congress.
Brat said local law enforcement officers are often on the scene at townhalls, but said he expects the House Sergeant at Arms to give members more counsel and guidance for handling security when they return home.
“I think after this event, that’s going to change the calculation,” he said. “We always look in retrospect, when you can see it more clearly. But when someone sneaks over the White House fence or flies a plane onto the White House lawn, then all of a sudden, we should be thinking ahead of time.”
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., was at the baseball field in Alexandria during the shooting and said the event is likely to change the way lawmakers practice for future congressional baseball games.
“I think this is going to change the way we’re going to have to practice in the future,” he said in an interview with CNN. “This is my seventh year on the team, and we have always felt safe until today.
“I’ve always felt safe on the baseball field,” he continued. “Now I’m not sure I’ll ever feel safe on the field again.”
