Scalise: Shooter at Baseball Field Had 'Political Agenda'

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said the man who shot him and four others last June had a "political agenda."

The shooting happened at a baseball field in Alexandria, Va., where Scalise and fellow Republican team members were having practice. In his first interview since the shooting, Scalise told CBS' "60 Minutes" the shooter had a "sick, twisted agenda."

"I think it was clear he had a political agenda, if you want to even call it that," Scalise said. "And it's a sick, twisted agenda. I don't think he could of been in the right frame of mind."

When asked if he thought the shooter, James Hodgkinson, targeted the lawmakers because they were Republicans, he said he thought "it was clear what his intentions were."

Scalise was shot as he was playing second base and tried to crawl to safety.

"When I went down, you know, my first instinct was to try to get away from the gunfire. So, I started crawling. And, you know that's when my arms gave out," Scalise said.

He said he then began to pray, and that gave him a sense of "calmness."

"It was a weird calmness while I'm hearing the gunfire. You know the first thing that came to mind. I prayed, 'God, please don't let my daughter have to walk up the aisle alone.' That was the first thing that came to mind," Scalise explained.

A security detail was present because of Scalise's leadership status.

Hodgkinson was killed in a shootout with police at the scene, and Scalise said he never saw him. Scalise's injuries caused him to have several surgeries and physical therapy.

"I found out later just how much damage was done internally. You know, I mean, my femur was shattered. The hip and pelvis had serious damage where the bullet went through and, you know, did some damage to areas that had to be shored up with steel plates and — then they did a phenomenal job of rebuilding, you know, kind of the rebuildin' Humpty Dumpty. I mean, there were, there was a lot of damage inside that — that had to get fixed," Scalise explained.

Scalise returned to Congress Thursday and was met with a standing ovation in the House.

• Paul Ryan: Scalise's Return to House Was 'Beautiful Moment'
• Wounded Rep. Steve Scalise Returns to Capitol to Bipartisan Cheers