Congressman Steve Scalise was released from a Washington hospital Wednesday almost six weeks after he was critically wounded in an ambush shooting on a baseball field in nearby Virginia.

Scalise, the third highest-ranking Republican in the House, was shot in the hip when a gunman attacked a group of Republican members of Congress who were participating in a baseball practice on June 14.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center said in a statement Scalise is beginning “intensive inpatient rehabilitation,” and added, “He is in good spirits and is looking forward to his return to work once he completes rehabilitation.”

Scalise was shot once. The bullet from a high-powered rifle traveled from his left hip across his pelvis and shattered when it struck bone. He also suffered damage to a number of internal organs. In the days after the shooting, Scalise was in critical condition and underwent numerous surgeries.

After a period of recovery, the congressman from the southeastern state of Louisiana was readmitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit in early June following a surgical procedure to manage infection.

He was moved out of intensive care on June 22 when his condition was upgraded to fair.

Four other people were also wounded in the attack, but Scalise was the most seriously injured.

The shooter was 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson, a small-business owner from the Midwestern state of Illinois. Hodgkinson was shot by police at the scene of the attack and died from his wounds.

The police investigation revealed Hodgkinson had purposely targeted Republican lawmakers.
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