WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders says the man who shot a congressman and four other people was apparently a volunteer on his losing 2016 presidential campaign. The Vermont independent senator says he’s “sickened by this despicable act.”

Sanders issued a two-paragraph statement on Wednesday’s shooting at a baseball practice for Republican lawmakers, and read it nearly verbatim on the Senate floor. But he ignored a reporter’s attempt to ask him questions on the incident.

Sanders says violence is unacceptable, and says only “nonviolent action” can bring change.

The director of Sanders’ Iowa campaign says campaign staff could not recall the gunman, whose name was James T. Hodgkinson. Officers shot Hodgkinson, and President Donald Trump said the gunman died.

Sanders unsuccessfully challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.