A congressman who was wounded by a sniper last year while practicing for a baseball game is coming to The Villages.
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, who serves as the House Majority Whip, will be at Barnes & Noble in Lake Sumter Landing on Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. to sign copies of his new book titled “Back in the Game: One Gunman, Countless Heroes, and the Fight for My Life.” The book is being released Nov. 13, so Villagers and area residents will be among the first to get a copy signed by Scalise as he visits various cities across the country.
On June 14, 2017, Scalise was gunned down while practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game pitting Republicans against Democrats. The GOP representative from Louisiana, who was playing second base, was shot in the hip and was the only member of Congress to be hit. Capitol Police Officer Crystal Griner, aide Zack Barth and lobbyist Matt Mika also were wounded during the shooting attack by 66-year-old James Hodgkinson, of Belleville, Ill. Hodgkinson, a left-wing activist and supporter of Bernie Sanders, was hiding in an area behind the third-base dugout.
A vocal critic of the Republican Party and President Trump, Hodgkinson had a history of domestic violence. He was shot and killed by return fire from U.S. Capitol police officers and other law enforcement officials who responded to the call for help at the baseball field in Alexandria, Va.
Scalise, of New Orleans, was struck by a rifle bullet that did extensive damage to his pelvis by fracturing bones, damaging internal organs and causing internal bleeding. He was in critical condition when he arrived at MedStar Washington Hospital “with an imminent risk of death,” a doctor at the facility said.
Scalise’s book offers readers a minute-by-minute account of the day. It shares his story of surviving the grueling injuries he received and also pays tribute to the “heroes” who emerged to play critical roles in his survival and that of others on the ball field after the shooting.
In the book, Scalise looks at the backgrounds of each hero, seeking to understand how everyone “wound up right where they needed to be, right when they needed to be there” to help save his life. He takes readers through each step and talks about those who also experienced the tragedy.“Back in the Game” also shares the story Rep. Brad Wenstrup, an Army Reserve officer and surgeon whose experience serving in combat in Iraq prepared him to help save Scalise’s life that day. And it pays tribute to the members of his security detail who acted quickly, as well as the police officers, paramedics, helicopter pilots and trauma team members who worked diligently to save his life.
Scalise also will surely share his thoughts on the moment when he returned to the baseball field on June 6 – almost a year after suffering near-fatal wounds in the shooting attack. The Louisiana State University graduate was proudly wearing a yellow Tigers jersey as he trotted out to second base to field ground balls while practicing for an upcoming game.
The moment was captured by fellow Republican Jeff Flake, who tweeted out a photo of Scalise throwing a ball with the message “@Steve Scalise back on the field this morning. This does my heart good.” The Arizona senator also was at the ball park the morning of the shooting.
A week later, Scalise, walking with a cane, took the field for the annual charity game. He was wearing a red, white and blue jersey sporting “USA” and the number 1 on it as he smiled and waved to the cheering crowd. A few minutes later he threw Democratic Rep. Raul Ruiz out at first base and was rushed by several lawmakers who stopped the game to hug and congratulate him.
Scalise’s name came up this past Saturday when GOP gubernatorial hopeful Ron DeSantis held a rally at the La Hacienda Recreation Center in The Villages. DeSantis, who also visited Florida’s Friendliest Hometown in July, recalled running into Hodgkinson the day of the shooting as he was leaving the field early, moments before the shooting started.
“This hits home to me,” DeSantis said, recalling how Hodgkinson asked him and a colleague if the players on the field were Republicans. “We got in the car, we drove away and he went to the van parked by the third-base side, grabbed a rifle and started shooting the Republican members of Congress.”
DeSantis used the example to hit home with fellow Republicans at the rally of the extremist attitude some have taken toward politics these days and the dangers that exist.
“He’s yelling and screaming, he’s anti-Trump, a Bernie Sanders guy and all this other stuff,” he said to a round of applause. “And he was trying to kill a bunch of Republicans.”
The Villages Barnes & Noble is known throughout Central Florida for playing host to high-profile authors. Some of the most recent include:
- Popular Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson signed copies of his book, “Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution,” at the store on Oct. 6.
- The night before, “Fox and Friends” co-host Steve Doocy and his wife, Kathy, signed copies of their new cookbook, “The Happy Cookbook: A Celebration of the Food That Makes America Smile.” And Steve Doocy appeared in live segments during Friday’s edition of “Fox & Friends” from Lake Sumter Landing outside RJ Gator’s.
- In August, Greg Gutfeld, co-host of “The Five” signed copies of “The Gutfeld Monologues: Classic Rants From The Five.” He brought in a huge crowd of fans, including an 11-year-old girl who lined up seven hours in advance to be the first to greet him.
- In May, Bret Baier, host of “Special Report with Bret Baier” and chief political anchor for Fox signed copies of his new book titled: “Three Days in Moscow: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire.” His aunt, Kathy Scarito, lives in the Village of Sunset Pointe.
- In December 2017, Doocy’s “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade was in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown to sign copies of his latest book, “Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans: The Battle That Shaped America’s Destiny.”
- And former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer signed copies in August of his new book, “The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President.” Spicer, who served in the administration with Gorka, told the crowd of Villagers at the event that he wrote the book to “set the record straight” about Trump’s campaign and presidential victory.