Two injured Capitol Hill police officers are being hailed as heroes who prevented a massacre at the hands of a would-be assassin in Alexandria, Va., on Wednesday.
There at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park because they were assigned to Majority Whip Steve Scalise's protective detail, officers Crystal Griner and David Bailey engaged gunman James Hodgkinson in a gun battle that otherwise would have made unarmed and exposed Republican lawmakers sitting ducks.
Griner was shot in the ankle and underwent surgery Wednesday, and Bailey was treated and released after suffering a non-gunshot wound, Capitol Hill police said. Though law enforcement wouldn't say which of the two fired the bullet(s) that neutralized Hodgkinson, grateful lawmakers knew the score.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the scene was a "killing field" and that without Griner and Bailey, "it would have been a massacre."
"Everybody probably would have died except for the fact that the Capitol Hill police were there and the only reason they were there is because we had a member of leadership on our team," Paul told MSNBC.
"These folks are heroes," said Tennessee Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, who also was at the field.
"I expressed our profound gratitude to them," Speaker Paul Ryan said on the House floor Wednesday. "It is clear to me, based on various eyewitness accounts, that without these two heroes, Agent Bailey and Agent Griner, many lives would have been lost."
Scalise was one of four shot by the gunman and is in critical condition after surgery on Wednesday, with more surgeries needed for the Louisiana Republican.
But former majority leader Eric Cantor was the voice Scalise couldn't be regarding Griner and Bailey.
Griner is "an incredibly able and professional individual who always takes her job and responsibility seriously," Cantor told The Daily Beast.
"It is not surprising to hear of her heroism and bravery during this horrible attack. The bravery David showed reflects the kind of commitment he, Crystal, and the team demonstrated each and every day."