Facebook pulls pages of suspected baseball gunman

Facebook has removed pages associated with James T. Hodgkinson, the suspected gunman who opened fire at a congressional baseball practice early Wednesday morning.

The company said that it removed Hodkinson’s pages for violating its community standards.

“We are shocked and saddened by the incident that took place this morning,” Facebook said in an emailed statement first reported by Politico. “We have identified and removed the suspect’s profiles for violating our community standards.”

Hodgkinson, 66, opened fire early Wednesday during a GOP baseball practice in Alexandria, Va., injuring five people including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), according to the FBI, which said it was investigating his social media posts.

{mosads}

Scalise was in “critical condition” on Wednesday afternoon following emergency surgery in Washington, according to a tweet from MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where he was being treated.

Tyson Foods lobbyist Matt Mika was also in critical condition following surgery, according to the company, while two police officers wounded at the scene were said to be in good condition. A congressional staffer was also injured.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement that the suspected gunman “apparently volunteered” on his presidential campaign. 

“I am sickened by this despicable act. Let me be as clear as I can be: Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms,” Sanders said.

Hodgkinson died following a shootout with police, according to authorities.