Staff at a Virginia restaurant that suspected shooter James Hodgkinson frequented have said the man accused of opening fire at a congressional baseball practice behaved oddly and made women in particular feel uncomfortable.
Hodgkinson, 66, was reportedly a regular at Pork Barrel BBQ, an Alexandria, Virginia, bar and restaurant not far from the baseball field where he allegedly opened fire on Wednesday. Staff told the Daily Mail that he would often pop in during happy hour to watch golf games.
“He definitely creeped out all our female bartenders,” bartender Jamie Craig told the newspaper. “I tried to shy away from him… just a feeling, he gave me a weird, odd vibe.”
Craig, who described the supposed shooter as anything but a “socialite,” said he would come in alone and order a couple beers. The bartender also recalled how he would stare out of the window and appear angry when he couldn’t get the staff’s attention.
“He was not the friendliest of people. I remember he was a bit of a rude person sometimes,” she added.
The 66-year-old’s last known address was in Belleville, Illinois. But the former home inspector may have resided in Alexandria for the last few months.
Police fatally shot Hodgkinson on Wednesday after the gunman wounded GOP Louisana Rep. Steve Scalise, Congressional staffer Zachary Barth, and lobbyist Matt Mika during baseball practice. Rep. Scalise was last reported to be in critical but stable condition following emergency surgery, according to CNN.
ABC News reports that the alleged shooter had several run-ins with police. In March, sheriff’s deputies responded to a call that Hodgkinson had fired 50 shots on his property. Officers didn’t arrest the man as he was a legal firearm owner and didn’t break any laws.
Hodgkinson faced domestic battery and unlawful discharge of a shotgun charges in 2006. The case was later dismissed.
In a statement, the FBI said the agency is “actively investigating Hodgkinson, to include his associates, whereabouts, social media impressions and potential motivations.”
Crime Online will continue to update this developing story.
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