Rep. Rodney Davis on ballfield shooting: ‘It’s still surreal’

An Illinois congressman who was at bat when a gunman attacked a group of GOP lawmakers and aides at baseball practice said in a TV interview Thursday that the ordeal is “still surreal.”

Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., and his wife, Shannon, discussed the Wednesday shooting on CNN.

“I don’t want anyone to ever experience what we experienced yesterday,” King said, calling for the end of divisive political rhetoric that he believes fueled the attack.

“Hopefully we can … band together. We’ve got to ratchet down this hateful rhetoric on both sides, otherwise you’re gonna see more tragedies like this,” he said.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, in a D.C.-area hospital, still has a difficult road to recovery, but, Davis said: “Steve’s alive, and that’s something I didn’t think was going to happen when I looked over and saw him motionless on the ground. I thought he was gone.”

Looking at his longtime friend and colleague lying on the field, Davis said he thought of Scalise’s kids. “In this world with policy differences and hate and vitriol, people forget that we’re dads and moms.”