Hold on there: Guy who asked 'Republicans or Democrats' may not have been the shooter

We were among many outlets who jumped on an earlier detail, but as so often happens in these situations, early indications give way to clearer facts. Congressman Ron DeSantis reported in the aftermath of the shooting that a man had approached him in the parking lot and asked if the players were Republicans or Democrats. Three minutes later, the shooting started. A-ha! Most of us assumed that the guy who asked the question was the shooter. But now there are conflicting reports about that. The guy who asked DeSantis the question was wearing running clothes. The shooter, we're told, was wearing jeans.

Also, is the shooter dead or alive? The last we're hearing is that he's "in the hospital," which sounds like he's alive but the reports don't explicitly say that. I don't want those of us on the right to be guilty of the same things we panned the left for after Gabby Giffords was shot. The MSM went crazy with presumptions that the shooting was politically motivated, and blamed the "right-wing atmosphere of hate" or whatever. It turned out the shooter was simply a nut, and was not political at all. Either one could be the case here, or something else entirely. We don't know yet and we don't want to jump on the narrative that best suits our partisan interests, only to have to to back away from it later, or worse, cling to it against all reason because we can't admit it wasn't what we wanted it to be. On a similar note, congressional Democrats have tweeted prayer and support for their Republican colleagues. Much needed, much appreciatated. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

.@HouseDemocrats praying for our @HouseGOP @SenateGOP baseball colleagues after hearing about the horrific shooting. https://t.co/y2HEUaSuzd pic.twitter.com/6HBrlnxtey

— Rep. Ruben J. Kihuen (@RepKihuen) June 14, 2017