Texas Agriculture Commissioner, former Tarrant Co. constable describe being 'in the crossfire' at Trump rally
Texas officials describe Trump rally shooting
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and former Tarrant County Constable Clint Burgess were just feet away from former president Trump on Saturday when a gunman opened fire. The two men say from the crowd it took a moment to realize the severity of the situation.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and former Tarrant County Constable Clint Burgess attended Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday and were just feet away from the former president when he was targeted in an assassination attempt.
One attendee was killed, and two others were critically injured in the shooting, according to the Secret Service.
READ MORE: What we know about Thomas Matthew Crooks, the alleged shooter at Trump's rally
Former president Trump says a bullet grazed his right ear. He was treated and later released from the hospital.
Burgess posted photos from the front row of the bleachers shortly before the shooting.
Burgess compared the rally to the "craziest concert you've ever been to" with the crowd packed into the stage area.
The Texans were about 30 feet away from the president when the shots were fired.
At first, they thought it was a prank.
"Most of the people around us thought it was a cap gun," said Burgess. "It wasn't that loud."
Miller said he thought the sound was a balloon popping or fireworks.
"Apparently, I was in the crossfire and I didn't even realize it," said Miller.
A man behind Miller and Burgess was killed, a woman nearby was hit in the chest and a third was grazed in the neck.
"It really wasn't until we heard, ‘we need a medic’ right behind us, right directly behind us that we realized this was a serious situation that we were dealing with," said Burgess.
The Agriculture Commissioner said from where he was sitting he was able to see the blood on the former president's face.
"I thought he'd been shot in the body a few times. Thank goodness that wasn't the case," said Miller.
The men said it took about 20 minutes to get out of the area of the rally and another three hours before they were able to leave the parking lot.
Because of a lack of cell service in the crowd, Burgess said it was difficult to get updates on what had happened.
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"The biggest thing that we kept questioning on the way out was: how did we not catch that? How did we not see this individual on the roof? How was that not secured?" said Burgess.
"It was quite traumatic for a lot of people," said Miller.