Rep. Adam Schiff said Wednesday that a "deterioration in the political climate" has led to "a real escalation" in death threats against members of Congress after the shooting attack on Republicans at a Virginia baseball field.
"I think all of us have gotten those kind of threats from time to time, but they do seem to have escalated given the deterioration in the political climate over the last couple years," the California Democrat told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and three others were shot in the attack at 7:09 a.m. at a practice for the GOP congressional baseball team in Alexandria, Va.
Scalise was listed in critical condition at a local hospital after surgery for a gunshot wound to the hip, hospital officials said on Twitter:
The others injured included two Capitol police officers. One of them was in good condition, the hospital said.
The shooter, identified by authorities as James T. Hodgkinson, 66, of Illinois, was killed in return gunfire by police.
Legislators from both parties later met to discuss their safety and how best to protect themselves at public events, according to news reports.
"There is a real concern that this kind of thing is happening with what feels like increasing frequency," Schiff said.
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