The ambush attack that left House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and several others seriously wounded shocked the country and much of the world.
But the shooting, which interrupted a quiet early morning baseball practice for congressional Republicans in suburban Washington, could've become one of the worst political massacres of recent times.
In an in-depth piece, built on interviews with more than 20 lawmakers, aides and first-responders who were there during the June 14 attack, to paint a vivid picture of just what happened.
"I could sense that I was starting to fade," Scalise told Buzzfeed of the moments before being loaded into a helicopter for the flight to a hospital. "And I could feel my body shutting down. And, you know, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it."
The report puts the response of Scalise's security detail — Capitol Police special agents David Bailey and Crystal Griner — into sharp focus. The pair of officers, hailed as heroes by those on the ball field, returned fire along with three Alexandria, Va., officers responding to 911 calls, took on the gunman.
“The irony is because Steve Scalise was there,” Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis said, “we all survived.”
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