Lawmakers: Possible Shooter Asked ‘Are You Republicans or Democrats?’

Two members of Congress said they believe they spoke to the gunman who fired on a group of Republican lawmakers on Wednesday morning, hitting Majority Whip Steve Scalise and four others, moments before the shooting.

Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina and Ron DeSantis of Florida were leaving the GOP team practice, ahead of Thursday's annual Congressional Baseball Game, when they were approached by a man in running clothes as they were getting into DeSantis' car.

"I was at the congressional baseball practice, but left before the shooting to catch an earlier meeting," Duncan wrote on Facebook. "I saw the shooter and am in the process of giving a statement to the police."

According to CNN, Duncan described the man as wearing running clothes, an account that differs from that of Sen. Jeff Flake, who said he believed the shooter was wearing jeans.

"There was a guy that walked up to us that was asking whether it was Republicans or Democrats there," DeSantis said on Fox News, describing the conversation. "It was just a little odd, and he kind of walked toward the area where this happened, so we've told the police that."

DeSantis said the man was not carrying anything that looked like a weapon, but speculated that the gunman had "staged" the scene.

"It was just a little odd that he kind of really walked up to us to ask, and then went ahead," DeSantis said. "Probably [the shooting] was three minutes, five minutes after we pulled out of the parking lot."

The shooting incident, which took place just after 7 a.m., in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia, wounded Scalise, two Capitol Hill police officers on Scalise's security detail, and two others, including an aide to Rep. Roger Williams of Texas.

Alexandria Police have confirmed the gunman is in custody.