Representative Scalise's condition upgraded to 'serious' after shooting

[June 19, 2017]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, showed further improvement days after being shot by a man who opened fire on lawmakers at a baseball practice earlier in the week, his lead surgeon said in a statement on Saturday.

Scalise's condition was upgraded to "serious," from "critical" after undergoing another surgery on Saturday, according to a statement from Dr. Jack Sava, the director of trauma at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center. "He is more responsive and is speaking with his loved ones," the doctor said.

Scalise, 51, sustained injuries to internal organs, broken bones and severe bleeding after being shot in his left hip early on Wednesday at a baseball field in a suburb of Washington.

Four men, including Scalise, a police officer, a congressional aide and a lobbyist, were shot and wounded when a man identified as James Hodgkinson, opened fire on the lawmakers as they practiced for an annual charity baseball game between Republicans and Democrats.

Sava earlier said the Louisiana congressman had been at "imminent risk of death" when he was first brought into the hospital on Wednesday, and he received many units of transfused blood.

A Republican supporter holds up a sign supporting House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) before the Democrats and Republicans face off in the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Hodgkinson 66, who was from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois, died after being shot by police.

(Reporting by Joel Schectman, editing by G Crosse)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.