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Northern Michigan Congressmen Recall Baseball Field Shooting

Three congressman from Michigan, including two from Northern Michigan were on the field when the shooting happened. They are all OK.

 But a Michigan native is among the shooting victims.

Congressmen Jack Bergman, John Moolenaar and Mike Bishop are all OK but say the shooting was nothing short of terrifying.

“Within about a millisecond after that second shot, most people knew it was gunfire,” said Bergman.

Northern Michigan Congressman Jack Bergman says as soon as soon as the shooting started, people scrambled, trying to get away from the gunman.

“People did the right thing, protected each other, protected themselves and tried to stay out of the path, out of the sights, if you will, of the gunman. We were very fortunate that he couldn’t gain access through the chain-link fence and that the Capitol police, who are the true heroes today, took him down,” said Bergman.

We also spoke to former congressman Dave Camp. His former legislative assistant Matt Mika is one of the shooting victims and remains in critical condition.

“It’s just hard to understand and fathom and you almost go numb. Obviously it’s a very seriously thing that occurred and then you think about people that you know, or might know, have known that were involved and how it might impact them and their families and you just hope and pray that they’re okay,” said Camp. 

Congressman Bergman says he has this message moving forward.

"I just think you need to make sure that you think twice about how your words and inflections and phrases are going to affect all the people who might see it. As leaders who’ve gone in to fight, gone in to tough places, we choose our words carefully to make sure all of our people understand the mission and understand what the end-game is and I think we can all learn, by holding each other accountable,” said Bergman.

The Congressional baseball game the lawmakers were practicing for will go on as planned.

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