By J.D. Prose
pennlive.com
Mike Mullen was about 20 feet left of the stage where former President Donald Trump was speaking on Saturday when he heard some unusual noises.
“We heard this pop, pop, pop, pop,” he told PennLive, saying that the sound reminded him of snaps that children throw on the ground.
But, author and former western Pennsylvania GOP congressional candidate Sean Parnell and Slippery Rock, Butler County, Mayor Jondavid Longo, both combat veterans, immediately recognized the sound of gunfire and told the people around them to get down.
“We all drop and hit the deck,” said Mullen, who is famous among Trump supporters for the “wall suit” he wears to rallies. “We don’t know where (the gunfire) is coming from.”
Mullen said he saw one man just a few feet away who appeared to be shot in the chest and another person who appeared to have suffered a shoulder wound. Officials said late Saturday that one attendee was killed, and two others were wounded.
“There was blood everywhere,” said Mullen, a 54-year-old Hampton Township, Allegheny County, resident.
Mullen said he could tell it by the sound that it was a small caliber gun being fired, but crowd members remained confused over the direction of the gunfire.
Trump was immediately pounced on by U.S. Secret Service agents, Mullen said, who kept the president down for what seemed like at least 10 minutes before rushing him off stage to a waiting SUV.
“We’re staying hunkered down because we don’t know if there are other shooters,” said Mullen, a delegate to the Republican National Convention for the sixth time.
“It was just chaotic,” he said. “Unbelievable.”
After Trump left, it was another 10 to 15 minutes before Pennsylvania state police ordered everyone to leave. Mullen said he walked out with U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a Butler County Republican.
Mullen said he, like others, was in shock at what they just experienced. “I’m still numb right now,” he said nearly four hours after the incident.
“This isn’t Democrat or Republican,” Mullen said. “This is just pure evil.”