A Congressman who was on the field when a gunman opened fire in Alexandria, Va. said he’ll never feel safe on a baseball diamond again.
“I’ve always loved baseball, but I’ll never feel safe on a baseball field again,” Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee told CNN.
Fleischmann, who is in his seventh year on the GOPers squad, was walking from left field down the third base side when he heard a single pop followed by what he described as “a barrage of gun shots.”
The congressman — a lifelong Mets fan — then ran and jumped into the dugout.
“It was a horrible scene,” he said.
“There was a real fear the gunman was going to come to the dugout,” he said. “We would have been sitting ducks.”
Fleischmann said the annual Congressional Baseball Game, which will be played as scheduled on Thursday, had been changed forever.
“The game is always very fraternal, and sadly this is going to change the way this game happens in the future,” he said.