Congressman looks back on 'miracle' of locked fence that saved GOP lawmakers from shooter

close

Video

Two years after Scalise shooting, Rep. Wenstrup reflects on coming to teammate's aid

As lawmakers prepare to take the field for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, Ohio Republican Brad Wenstrup looks back on the shooting that shook Capitol Hill and the country.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a former combat surgeon who rushed to Rep. Steve Scalise's aid when he was shot two years ago, said miracles took place on the field that stopped the attack from being even worse.

Wenstrup told "Fox & Friends" Wednesday that he used his military surgeon training to immediately analyze the severity of Scalise's wounds when the Louisiana Republican was shot by a left-wing activist while practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game in 2017.

"I pulled his pants down, this was my military combat experience instincts, to look for the wound," Winstrup said. "When I didn't see an exit wound for the leg, I knew that it went up and that he was in much deeper trouble than people realized."

In an earlier interview, Scalise said that Wenstrup's quick thinking and application of a tourniquet saved his life, in addition to the relentless efforts by the officers that were assigned to protect him that day.

Video

Scalise is still struggling with mobility issues and uses crutches, but he played in the Congressional Baseball Game last year and will do the same alongside Wenstrup on Wednesday night.

STEVE SCALISE READY TO PLA YIN CONGRESSIONAL BASEBALL GAME TWO YEARS AFTER SHOOTING: 'IT'S BEEN QUITE A ROAD'

"I was fortunate God put me in the position to help him," Wenstrup said.

He also told correspondent Carley Shimkus that he later had a conversation with the groundskeeper of the baseball field where the shooting took place in Alexandria, Virginia. The groundskeeper told him that he typically doesn't lock the gate which accesses the third base side, but for some reason, he chose to lock it on the night before the attack.

Wenstrup said the shooter had been standing at the third base gate for two months planning the attack.

WATCH: STEVE SCALISE HONORS HERO COP WHO SAVED HIM AFTER SHOOTING 

"If he had been able to walk in, we would have been in much bigger trouble," he said. "That first shot missed [Rep.] Trent Kelly at third base because it hit a link in the fence. He wouldn't have had to worry about that link in the fence if that gentleman had not locked the gate the night before."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Wenstrup added that he doesn't think "anybody could have handled" the fallout from the attack in the way Scalise has, and added that some of his finest moments in Congress have been witnessing his colleague's recovery.