Virginia shooting: Shooter of Republican lawmaker Steve Scalise has died, says Trump

The man who opened fire on Republican lawmakers at a baseball practice early Wednesday in Virginia, wounding a top congressman and three others, has died of injuries.

The man who opened fire on Republican lawmakers at a baseball practice early Wednesday, wounding a top congressman and three others, has died of injuries sustained in a shootout with police, President Donald Trump said.

US President Donald Trump delivers a statement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 14, 2017 after House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot in nearby Alexandria, Virginia. (AFP Photo)

“Many lives would have been lost, if not for the heroic actions of the two Capitol police officers who took down the gunman despite sustaining gunshot wounds during a very, very brutal assault,” Trump said in remarks to the nation.

Trump called for national unity Wednesday after a gunman shot a senior Republican lawmaker and several others gathered to practice for a charity baseball game.

“We are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good,” the president said in an address to the country from the Diplomatic Room of the White House.

The shooting came amid high political tension in the United States after a vitriol-filled 2016 election campaign.

“We may have our differences, but we do well, in times like these, to remember that everyone who serves in our nation’s capital is here because, above all, they love our country,” Trump said, calling for the nation to put politics aside.

“Melania and I are grateful for their heroism and praying for the swift recovery of all victims.”

Trump described Scalise as a “very good friend,” a “patriot” and a “fighter.”

“America is praying for you and America is praying for all of the victims of this terrible shooting,” he said.