Top Republican politician Steve Scalise's condition has been upgraded from critical to serious after he was gunned down at a party baseball practice outside Washington.
The Louisiana Republican is recovering from "substantial damage" he suffered when a bullet pierced his left hip and traveled directly across to the other hip, Dr. Jack Sava of MedStar Washington Hospital Center said Friday.
Colleagues who visited Scalise, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, sounded generally upbeat, but spoke more in terms of hopes than the confident predictions of the immediate aftermath a day earlier.
"On behalf of Steve and our children, I want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for the incredible amount of prayers and warm wishes we have received since Wednesday's events", Scalise's wife, Jennifer, said in a statement Friday.
The American Hospital Association defines "critical" condition as: "Vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits". He has required surgery several times since the shooting.
He had with him a piece of paper with doodles and the names of three politicians, according to a person familiar with the case.
The person told The Associated Press on Saturday that investigators aren't sure of the significance of the names and don't know if it was a list of people he was targeting.
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The president said that because of the "tremendous pain and suffering he's now enduring. our country will perhaps become closer, more unified".
The bullet damaged blood vessels, bones, and internal organs, Sava said.
Law enforcement officials identified the shooter as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois, who later died from injuries sustained during a shootout with police on the scene.
Trump added that Scalise is "having a hard time, far worse than anybody thought" following the shooting Wednesday.
Two Capitol police officers, David Bailey and Crystal Griner, as well as House Republican aide Zack Barth were injured, but have been released from hospital.
The family of a lobbyist shot multiple times during a Republican baseball practice outside Washington says he has undergone additional surgery and doctors expect a full recovery. Griner remains hospitalized at MedStar Hospital after getting shot in the ankle, and Sava described her in good condition.
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