A man who was just steps away from former President Donald Trump during this weekend's assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, is describing what he saw.
Rico Elmore, vice chairman for the Beaver County Republican Committee, was sitting to the right of the stage, a high five's length away from the former president, when gunfire erupted on Saturday.
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"All of the sudden, these shots ring out from nowhere, right in the middle of Trump's speech," Elmore told NBC10 Boston Monday.
Elmore says chaos quickly unfolded around him.
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"I hear, 'Medic, we need a medic, someone's been hit,'" he recalled. "And then there was people surrounding an individual."
Images show blood on Elmore's shirt after he rushed over to help Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief who was mortally wounded in the shooting.
"I was holding a towel against the deceased head as he was bleeding out," Elmore said. "The doctor was performing CPR, we picked him up out from the stands and we were able to get him to medical personnel in order for them to take him out. It was horrific."
People in the crowd screamed and ran for safety after the assassination attempt, which Trump survived after a bullet struck his ear.
"There were ladies, there were children screaming," said Elmore. "We were putting people around our shoulders and carrying them to safety to medical personnel, and then after that, I'm just running back and forth, back and forth, we're getting people out."
Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Comperatore jumped over his family to protect them in those horrifying moments.
"Corey died a hero," said Shapiro.
"A senseless act on a life and injured others — for what cause, I don't know," Elmore said.
Former high school classmates say the shooter — 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks — was bullied in high school.
"The next time any individual thinks about bullying anyone, I want them to remember that the consequences of doing such can be drastic and they can all go to someone being killed to relieve their frustration and their anger," Elmore said. "And that is not the America that we need to raise our kids in today."
