Meet the Black Officers Who Heroically Took Down the Virginia Shooter
After the mass shooting during a congressional baseball practice on Wednesday morning, the two Capitol Police officers who bravely took down the shooter and prevented a “massacre” have been labeled heroes.
Capitol Police officers Crystal Griner and David Bailey are special agents on Rep. Steve Scalise’s security detail. During practice, shooter James T. Hodgkinson opened fired and struck Scalise and other congressional staffers. While Scalise dragged himself to safety and others hid, Griner and Bailey engaged in a gunfight and took down the shooter, officials said.
Both officers were hit during the gunfire, yet they are expected to make a full recovery.
Both Bailey and Griner were known to be extremely courageous people
Both officers served on former Majority Leader Eric Cantor's detail and he told The Daily Beast about his experiences with them.
“[Griner’s] an incredibly able and professional individual who always takes her job and responsibility seriously,” Cantor told The Daily Beast. “It is not surprising to hear of her heroism and bravery during this horrible attack.”
“The bravery David showed reflects the kind of commitment he, Crystal and the team demonstrated each and every day,” Cantor said. “Incidents like the attack today are never something many of us even imagine happening. David is a trained professional who was and remains ready to act whatever the threat. Wishing him a full recovery.”
During the Congressional baseball game, David Bailey threw out the first pitch
Many people have thanked Bailey and Griner for their bravery on the field
Bailey is a nine-year veteran of the Capitol Police force and previously worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He graduated from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, in 2007, where he was the president of the university’s chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha.
Griner is a 2006 graduate of Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. Griner was a basketball star through high school and college and was one of Hood’s top scorers in her freshman year.
