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SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky.

Sen. Rand Paul made his first trip to Kentucky since last week's shooting at a congressional baseball practice.

Paul was in Alexandria, Virginia, when a gunman opened fire, injuring a congressman and four others.

Paul returned to Kentucky Monday to tour Gordon Food Service, in Shepherdsville. While there, he took time to talk about the shooting and the game that followed.

"We usually have 4,000, 5,000, 6,000 people," Paul said. "We had 25,000 people there."

Paul told WLKY that last week's congressional baseball game showed that the actions of many outweigh the actions of one.

"We played the game, and people really did come together in the sense that we were set to raise $600,000 dollars for charity in one day and it went up to $1.5 million," Paul said.

Republicans and Democrats played the game just days after a gunman open fired as Paul and other lawmakers practiced.

"It's something nobody can really plan for," Pauls said. "I woke up in the morning going to baseball, a good American pastime, and had a person shooting at us."

Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise was among the victims.

The gunman was shot and killed.

Paul said he has spoken with some of the victims since the shooting.

"I saw one of the real heroes and that was a Capitol Hill policeman, who really probably saved 20 people's lives," Paul said. "It would have been just a disaster had he not been there. Both of them. There was a man and a woman."

Paul said their heroism reminds him that the vast majority of people are good.

"You have to keep telling yourself that," Paul said. "It's a little harder when you've experienced something like that."

The senator will be back in Washington next week and said he hopes to meet with Scalise.

When asked about security, Paul told WLKY that his team already has increased security. It did that in 2011 following the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords in Tucson, Arizona.

WEBVTT HEPHERDSVILLE,AND TOOK TIME TO TALK ABOUT LASTWEEK'S SHOOTING.WE USUALLY GET 4000, 5000PEOPLE, BUT WE HAD 25,000.REPORTER: SENATOR PAUL SAYS LASTWEEK'S CONGRESSIONAL BASEBALLGAME SHOWED THAT THE ACTIONS OFMANY OUTWEIGH THE ACTIONS OFONE.>> WE PLAYED THE GAME AND PEOPLEREALLY DID COME TOGETHER IN THESENSE THAT WE WERE SET TO RAISE$600,000 FOR CHARITY, AND IN ONEDAY, AND WHEN UP TO 1.5 FAMILYDOLLARS.REPORTER -- $1.5 MILLION.REPORTER: REPUBLICANS ANDDEMOCRATS PLAYED THAT GAME JUSTDAYS AFTER A GUNMAN OPEN FIREDAS PAUL AND OTHER LAWMAKERSPRACTICED IN ALEXANDRIA,VIRGINIA.>> IT IS SOMETHING NO ONE CANPLAN FOR.I WOKE UP EARLY IN THE MORNINGTO GO PLAY BASEBALL, ANDAMERICAN PASTIME, AND THEN THEREWAS A SHOOTING.REPORTER: REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMANSTEVE SCALISE AND FOUR OTHERSWERE HURT.THE GUNMAN WAS SHOT AND KILLED.SENATOR RAND PAUL SAYS HE HASSPOKEN WITH SOME OF THE VICTIMSSINCE.>> I SAW ONE OF THE REAL HEROES,A CAPITOL POLICE MAN, WHOPROBABLY SAVE 20 PEOPLE.THERE WAS A MAN AND A WOMAN.REPORTER: PAUL SAYS THEIRHEROISM REMINDS HIM THAT THEVAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE AREGOOD.SOMETHING HE SAYS WAS EVIDENT ATLAST WEEK'S GAME.

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Sen. Rand Paul discusses congressional baseball shooting - WLKY Louisville

Sen. Rand PaulRand PaulSenators wrestle with transparency in healthcare debate ObamaCare repeal and the Senate: Where it stands Rand Paul recounts shooting: 'Everyone was diving for the dirt' MORE (R-Ky.) in an interview aired Sunday gave a harrowing account of last week's shooting at a congressional GOP baseball practice.

Im just getting ready to go in and I hear one loud shot, Paul recalled during aninterviewwith radio host John Catsimatidis that aired Sunday on AM 970 in New York.

The GOP senator said those on the field initially did not think much of the bang, and were about to continue playing when the shooter opened fire.

A barrage of bullets came. Five, 10, 10 to 20. Overall probably 50, 60 shots were fired. Everyone was diving for the dirt. Everyone was diving for cover, he said.

Where I was located, the shooter was on the third base side behind the dugout. And as the shots came toward where I was standing, I could see them hitting the dirt in the warning track of the right field corner because he was shooting at two staff members that had run that direction, he said.

Paul, who was able to hide behind an oak tree and run, said credit is due to the two Capitol Police officers who were there to protect House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), who was critically wounded after being shot in the hip.

In the end, I would say that all of our lives were saved by the Capitol Hill police, Paul said. They saved a lot of lives by being there."

The FBI was investigating social media postings and potential motives for the gunman, identified as James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old Illinois man who authorities said had been in the Alexandria, Va., area since March.

Hodgkinson, a former volunteer for Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersSenators wrestle with transparency in healthcare debate Law enforcement not in touch with Sanders on Scalise shooters work for campaign Sanders implies support for Senate blockade over healthcare MORE's (I-Vt.) presidential campaign, appeared on social media to be a staunch critic of President Trump and the GOP. Hodgkinson died Wednesday after being shot during the attack.

The FBI reportedly obtained a list from his pocket Wednesday that included the names of several GOP lawmakers, though none of those reportedly on the list were hurt in the early-morning shooting.

Scalise was in critical condition Friday following multiple surgeries. Another critically injured person, lobbyist Matt Mika, was in the ICU on Saturday but had shown signs of improvement, according to a statement from his family.

A congressional aide and two Capitol Police officers were also wounded in the shooting.

"I think we are going to have to do something differently, particularly when we have large groups of us, Paul said in the interview Sunday, discussing security changes for members of Congress after the shooting.

Individually, I think people can be angry at us, but it is even easier for them to combine all of their hatred and anger towards a group of us. And, I think, that is what set this guy off, he said.

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Rand Paul recounts shooting: 'Everyone was diving for the dirt' - The Hill (blog)

The shooter was a blur to me, but I was close enough to see the dirt fly with each barrage of bullets. Thank God for the diameter of a large willow oak just outside the right field batting cage.

The first shot rang out in isolation. We weren't even sure, at first, if it was a shot. But there was no question when the next five to 10 shots followed. Rep. Steve Scalise was shot in that first barrage. Rep. Trent Kelly stared down the muzzle from less than 20 yards, and the shooter missed repeatedly as he careened, zigzagging toward the first base dugout.

From my spot against the oak tree, I watched as Zach Barth and another staffer raced along the warning track from left field toward my location in right field. As they dove into the dirt, face first, the bullets sent puffs of dirt around them.

A 20-foot chain-link fence separated me from them. I felt helpless, with no weapon and no way to reach the wounded. Rep. Scalise lay at second base, but no one could help him.

Large, long series of shots rang out across the field.

The decision for all of us was: Should I stay or should I go? Which was riskier -- to make a run for it and expose yourself as a target or stay still and hope the shooter tired of using you as target practice? The danger in staying was that if the shooter advanced and came to point-blank range, it would be certain death.

As these thoughts went through my head, another barrage of bullets hit the warning track five feet to my right. A staff member jumped up to try to climb the 20-foot fence just as Barth cried out, "I'm hit." Within two to three seconds, the staffer cleared the chain-link fence, like Spider-Man in fast motion.

He and I crouched behind the oak tree. The question returned. Should we stay or should we go? Should we risk the run across the open field over two more chain-link fences, or should we remain behind the tree?

Shouts spread. The shooter was on the move. Though we could only catch glimpses of him, we could see congressmen and staffers shuffling and repositioning themselves behind the concrete bathroom, the cinder block dugout, and various cars.

Should we stay or should we go? We knew that we had two Capitol Police officers there, Rep. Scalise's security detail. Were they already dead? We took about 10 seconds to deliberate, not exactly a pros and con debate but monosyllabic, "Run? Yeah . . ."

To escape, we had to leave the protective shadow of our oak and sprint across an open field. We would become targets again. As we jumped up to run, we heard the report of pistol fire from Capitol Police. The cavalry had arrived.

In the ensuing gunbattle, Special Agents Crystal Griner and David Bailey showed heroism above and beyond the call of duty. Advancing against the shooter, they were seriously outgunned in terms of firepower. The shooter had a long-range semiautomatic rifle, and the police only had handguns. The report of the pistols, though, was louder than the rifle and more explosive in sound.

Without the presence of these brave officers, both of whom were wounded in taking down the shooter, it would have been a massacre. They saved dozens of lives.

Later in the day, in the aftermath of a killing field, as I walk through the basement of the Capitol, a loud cart follows me, banging -- BANG, banging at every bump. BANG, BANG but not really bang. Not really death impending, but death in verisimilitude -- jarring, loud, and uninvited but not shooting or exploding.

Every passerby that didn't smile -- didn't shoot. Didn't shoot. For that I am grateful.

It's unlikely they will shoot again. Be smart, look at the percentages. Of course, unlikely, very unlikely. A random event, nothing more.

Sitting alone near the end of the day, fortunate to savor or perhaps castigate the sun's last rays, I feel the sun on my face. I want to deflect the sun's gaze. I want to rebuke her for providing aid and abetting the sight lines in today's killing field.

Aim, aim what is the aim. The rifle juts through the chain-link fence, spraying hate and blowing bone and muscle to bits in a show of nothing.

In the pause between gunshot and echo, in the seam of what may be, but is not yet, I hear my breathing return to normal.

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Rand Paul on being trapped on a killing field: Stay or go? - CNN

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

A quote attributed to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., after he and a dozen Republican colleagues were the target of a shooter who apparently was politically motivated is re-circulating on the Web as an example of the hypocrisy of the right.

The June 2016 tweet cited in the context of the shooting spree by a Bernie Sanders supporter Wednesday morning in which House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was seriously wounded states: Why do we have a Second Amendment? Its not to shoot deer. Its to shoot at the government when it becomes tyrannical!

But Paul never said those words, the senators spokesman told WND on Friday.

Sergio Gor, Pauls communications director, explained that a staffer was live tweeting a speech by Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano, a fact thatwas indicated in earlier tweets.

Unfortunately, some dishonest hacks have chosen to take this completely out of context and perpetuate a fake news cycle, Gor said.

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The speech by Napolitano one year ago was part of the Young Leaders for Freedom lecture series hosted by Paul.

Republicans are getting what they want

A blogger for the Daily Kos posted the tweet Wednesday, after the shooting, with the comment: I think this tweet will be deemed as not aging well. Vox Media co-founder Markos Moulitsas tweeted Republicans are getting what they want and Democratic operative Jamed Devine, after retweeting the Paul campaign tweet, said the shooter used his Second Amendment remedies.

The fact-check website Snopes addressed the issue, acknowledging in its subhead: A genuine tweet posted by the Kentucky senator was circulated out of context after lawmaker Steve Scalise was shot in Virginia.

Among other places, the attribution to Paul turned up in asyndicated column by Bill Press published by WND, which ran a correction after the error was discovered.

In his column, after citing the tweet, Press writes: One can only hope the good senator had second thoughts about that kind of incendiary rhetoric when he himself was one of those shot at on the Alexandria ballfield.

The line remains in the corrected version of his column.

Press told WND in an email that as with many other journalists, he first saw the tweet yesterday and included mention of it in his column.

As soon as I learned this morning that it supposedly quotes Andrew Napolitano of Fox News, I immediately wrote a correction which was circulated to all of their subscribers by Tribune Content Agency, he said.

Press, however, argued that the tweet was sent by Pauls campaign, under his name, and asked: Why would he tweet out Napolitanos words if he did not agree with them?

If the senator himself disagreed with what some staffer tweeted out, why didnt he denounce it? And why has it remained up on Senator Pauls Twitter account for over a year? he asked.

If anybodys responsible for promulgating fake news, its Senator Paul and his staff, Press told WND.

Gor emphasized that the quote was taken out of context used by opponents of Paul to charge him with incitement and the spokesman said, regarding the right to bear arms, it is well known that Senator Paul is a firm believer and supporter of the Second Amendment.

Judge Andrew Napolitano

While many on the left have insisted or implied that Second Amendment rights are restricted to hunting and possibly personal defense, many conservatives, and libertarians such as Napolitano, have argued the Founders intent was to ensure that the people, as sovereign governors, could defend the republic and itsConstitutionfrom tyrants who violateits protections of their inalienable rights.

In a column for the Washington Times in 2013, Napolitano also made references to hunting and tyrants.

He wrote that the right of the people to keep and bear arms is an extension of the natural right to self-defense and a hallmark of personal sovereignty.

It is specifically insulated from governmental interference by the Constitution and has historically been the linchpin of resistance to tyranny, Napolitano said.

Further, he asserted the historical reality of the Second Amendments protection of the right to keep and bear arms is not that it protects the right to shoot deer.

It protects the right to shoot tyrants, and it protects the right to shoot at them effectively, with the same instruments they would use upon us, Napolitano said. If the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto had had the firepower and ammunition that the Nazis had, some of Poland might have stayed free and more persons would have survived the Holocaust.

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Left uses out-of-context quote to accuse Rand Paul of incitement - WND.com

What's better than 420-friendly bipartisanship?

Contrary to what you might think, Jefferson Beauregard "Jeff Sessions" Sessions did not appear one day out of thin air when a melancholy racist wished upon a star for a glimpse of what the world would have looked like had the south won the Civil War. However, he is now our Attorney General, because the Trump Administration has all but changed the country's motto from "In God We Trust" to "LIGHT SHIT ON FIREEEEEEEEEE." Sessions is a proponent of criminal justice policies that are racist, ineffective, and basically penalize black people for being the victims of institutional racism. He also hates marijuana so much that he once joked that he was okay with the KKK until he learned they smoked pot. That's right, Jeff Sessions hates pot more than he hates the idea of blatant racism and terror! And now that he's AG, he's dead set on going getting rid of rules that keep the DOJ from enforcing federal drug laws in the case of states that allow medical marijuana. What a fun guy!

But in a strange twist for 2017, there's actually bipartisan resistance to this stupid plan. According to Rare, Senators Al Franken and Rand Paul, among others from both sides of the aisle, have come together to craft a bill that would guard against Sessions' misguided weed-hating absurdity.

Thankfully, Republican Senators Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Lisa Murkowski are teaming up with Democrats Al Franken, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand to support a bill that would protect states that allow medical marijuana from any federal interference. This legislation would also remove current obstacles to medical marijuana research.

There is a House version that also has bipartisan support. The lawmakers are expected to introduce this bill on Thursday.

This is actually pretty great to see, and a nice reminder that there is a lot of common ground that these two sides can find from time to time. It's also great, because I live in California and have a prescription for weed thanks to chronic migraines and now when I smoke I can enjoy it twice as much. First, the normal amount because weed is amazing. And then double that, because I'll know that I'm making Jeff Sessions mad, and that makes me happy.

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Al Franken and Rand Paul Join Forces to Protect Medical Marijuana from Jeff Sessions - GQ Magazine