U.S. Congressman Steve Scalise has returned to the House of Representatives for the first time since being shot on June 14, telling colleagues he is “a living example” that miracles happen.
Months after recovering from near-fatal injuries, Scalise slowly walked into the House chamber Thursday with the aid of two forearm crutches and to an extended round of applause from fellow lawmakers.
Scalise addressed his colleagues on the House floor in his first public appearance since the shooting in Alexandria, Virginia just south of the nation’s capitol.
WATCH: Scalise on how it feels to be back at work
The Majority Whip praised U.S. Capitol police officers Crystal Griner and David Bailey, who were on Scalise’s security detail and sustained gunshot wounds, as “true angles” and thanked them for saving his life and the lives of “a lot of other people here in this chamber today.”
“David, you are my hero,” Scalise said as Bailey looked on from his seat in the chamber. Scalise said Griner was not able to be present for his return to Capitol Hill.
James Hodgkinson, 60, opened fire during a Republican practice for the Congressional Baseball Game, an annual bi-partisan charitable event. Scalise was so severely injured that doctors said he was at “imminent risk of death” when he arrived at the hospital.
In addition to Scalise, Griner and Bailey, one other person was shot and two others suffered other injuries.
“Both Republican and Democrat [lawmakers] reached out in ways that I cannot express the gratitude and how much it means to me,” he said.
Scalise said he was overwhelmed with encouragement and prayers from many people, including world leaders he had never met. Those prayers, he said, gave him a renewed understanding of the power of prayer.
“So I am definitely a living example that miracles really do happen,” he said.
The Republican lawmaker told CBS’s “60 Minutes” recently that one bullet from a high-powered rifle shattered his femur and damaged his hip and pelvis. He also suffered damage to a number of internal organs and underwent numerous surgeries. He said doctors “did a phenomenal job of rebuilding … Humpty Dumpty,” adding, “They put me back together again.”
Hodgkinson, a small business owner from the midwestern state of Illinois, 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.
