San Diegan Was in Front Row When Trump Was Shot at Pennsylvania Rally

San Diego resident Blake Marnell had a front row seat at Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, PA, on Saturday, just 10 yards away from the podium, when shots rang out.

The Washington Post reported that Marnell has attended dozens of Trump rallies and initially though the loud bangs were some kind of prank.

“It’s scary how close it was,” he told the Post, adding that he later watched a video and saw that Trump turned his head at the last moment. “He kind of glanced towards the video board and that might have changed the position of his head just enough. I mean, it’s amazing.”

He said he ducked down with others in the crowd when he realized there was actual gunfire, and could hear Secret Service officers giving commands.

Then he saw Trump stand up and raise his arm in the air. That gesture, despite the blood on Trump’s ear, made Marnell “guardedly optimistic.”

“There was no panic. There was no stampede,” Marnell said. “There was no rush or anything like that.”

Marnell, 59, will be a California delegate at the upcoming Republican National Convention.