Handel Says Virginia Gunman Made 'Vile Comments' About Her: ICYMI

EAST COBB, GA -- In the wake of the shooting of a Republican Congressman and four others on Wednesday morning in Virginia, Georgia 6th Congressional District candidates Jon Ossoff and Karen Handel both expressed dismay at the attack.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, two police officers and two others were shot at a baseball practice at a park in Alexandria, Virginia. The gunman, identified as 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson, an Illinois businessman, was killed in a shootout with Virginia and U.S. Capitol Police.

"This is a shocking act of violence in Virginia and I'm praying for all those wounded in this morning's shooting," Ossoff said in a Twitter post. (To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the East Cobb Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

"I condemn this appalling act of violence committed by a disturbed individual," Ossoff said in a statement. "The whole country is shaken as well as united in prayer for those fighting for their lives and in appreciation for the first responders and police for saving lives today. Despite our differences of opinion, Americans must redouble our commitments to national unity, civility, and the rule of law."

Handel said in a statement, "My thoughts are with the victims of this morning's despicable, unprovoked attack on the Republican congressional softball team. Representative Scalise is a friend, and my heart goes out to him and his family. Steve and I wish him and the others wounded a speedy recovery. They remain in our thoughts and prayers."

Read more: Dog missing after Alexandria Congressional shooting
Authorities investigating the shooting said Hodgkinson made disparaging comments online about President Donald Trump and other Republican politicians -- Handel said that she was one of them.
"I am aware that the suspect recently made vile comments about me on social media," she said in a statement. "It also appears that the suspect targeted members of Congress specifically because he disagreed with their views.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that a social media account believed to belong to Hodgkinson blasted Handel in a profane post. "Republican [expletive] Wants People to Work for Slave Wages, when a Livable Wage is the Only Way to Go! Vote Blue, It’s Right for You!” a post attributed to the gunman said on June 8.
Handel said that Americans must rise about politics and unite in a "civil and productive" way.
"We should not allow our political differences to escalate to violent attacks. We must all refuse to allow the politics of our country to be defined in this way. Now more than ever, we must unite as a one nation under God. It is incumbent upon all of us to work together in a civil and productive way, even when we disagree."
Handel and Ossoff are locked in a tight race that will culminate in Tuesday's runoff for the 6th District, which includes the affluent Atlanta suburbs encompassing Cobb, Fulton and DeKalb counties.

Image via Patch file photo