--- title: Steve Scalise: Zach Barth, Roger Williams Discuss Shooting description: Congressional aide Zach Barth said he relied on his survival instincts after he had been shot to ensure he would emerge from the situation alive. canonical: https://time.com/4819794/steve-scalise-virginia-shooting-zach-barth-roger-williams/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-15T15:41:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:10:04.950Z article:section: Politics og:title: How This Virginia Shooting Victim Survived the Attack og:description: "My single focus was to stay alive" og:url: https://time.com/4819794/steve-scalise-virginia-shooting-zach-barth-roger-williams/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4f285f8bb27910b/6988d1cecd1bbaaf9d705a7c/roger-williams-zach-barth.png?branch=production&width=585&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 585 og:image:height: 329 og:image:alt: 170615_Roger Williams Zach Barth og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How This Virginia Shooting Victim Survived the Attack twitter:description: "My single focus was to stay alive" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4f285f8bb27910b/6988d1cecd1bbaaf9d705a7c/roger-williams-zach-barth.png?branch=production&width=585&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # ‘My Single Focus Was to Stay Alive.’ How This Virginia Shooting Victim Survived > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jun 15, 2017 3:41 PM UTC  Courtesy of CBS  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jun 15, 2017 3:41 PM UTC Zach Barth, a legislative aide for Rep. Roger Williams who was shot in the leg Wednesday when a gunman [opened fire](http://time.com/4817777/alexandria-shooting-steve-scalise/?iid=sr-link2) on a Republican baseball practice in Virginia, said he relied on his survival instincts to ensure he would emerge from the situation alive. ” I saw him train his gun at me and everything around me started to pop,” said Barth, who appeared with Williams on [CBS ](http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/rep-roger-williams-and-zach-barth-on-alexandria-shooting/)[_This Morning_](http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/rep-roger-williams-and-zach-barth-on-alexandria-shooting/)_._ “My fight or flight kicked in, I decided if I wanted to live, I needed to make a run for it.” He ran to the dugout, he said, right into his boss’s arms. “My single focus was to stay alive and to keep everyone around me safe,” he said. Barth was one of four victims shot Wednesday, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, U.S. Capitol Police Special Agent Cristal Griner and Matt Mika, a lobbyist for [Tyson Foods](http://time.com/4691883/bird-flu-tennessee-tyson/) and the company’s government relations director. As of Wednesday evening, Griner was hospitalized, but in stable condition. Scalise was in critical condition at Medstar Hospital in Washington, D.C. Mika had [undergone surgery](http://time.com/4818887/matt-mika-virginia-shooting-critical-condition/) and was expected to remain in the intensive care unit for several days. The suspect, identified as [66-year-old James Hodgkinson, ](http://time.com/4818165/steve-scalise-shooting-suspect-james-hodgkinson/)succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained during rounds of fire with law enforcement. The FBI is investigating possible motives around the shooting. His brother told the [New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/us/politics/virginia-shooting-suspect-james-hodgkinson.html?action=Click&contentCollection=BreakingNews&contentID=65436420&pgtype=Homepage&%5Fr=1) Hodgkinson was upset that Donald Trump won last year’s presidential election. The FBI declined to comment on any sort of political motive. But Williams, who is the coach of the Republican team and hurt his ankle during the shooting, said it was clear the gunman was targeting lawmakers. “I think the Congress people were the targets,” he said. “I do think that we were the targets as Congress people. That’s what he woke up to do, to kill Congress people.” The shooting happened while Republicans were practicing for Thursday’s [Congressional Baseball Game](http://time.com/4817863/steve-scalise-congressional-baseball-game/?xid=homepage) at Nationals Park, a tradition that dates back to 1909\. 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