CNN
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CNN reporter Alayna Treene covers Donald Trump and was at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when shots rang out on Saturday. She spoke with CNN’s Zachary Wolf about what she noticed.
TREENE: It was truthfully going to be a typical rally, like every other. I’ve now been to – I can’t even rely, upwards of 20 – the vast majority of Donald Trump’s rallies since he launched his third bid, and it was a scene like every other.
There’s a lot safety presence.
Folks typically comment, ‘Oh, you need to be secure, watch out.’ And I typically really feel like being in a rally is without doubt one of the most secure locations, as a result of there’s at all times a lot Secret Service. There’s native legislation enforcement on the bottom. It’s important to undergo a number of mags (magnetometers). They’ve very restricted choices of what you possibly can herald. With CNN, we get safety for ourselves as properly, simply given the divisive nature of the politics proper now. So it was outstanding to me to see what had occurred.
When the pictures went off, we had been on the riser. We’re in the midst of the group. There’s usually a big crowd, after which we’re above them. The risers are elevated. We’re over the group so we are able to see. We’re in keeping with the stage, and possibly 100 yards from the stage.
We had simply gone reside proper on the high of 6 p.m. and had begun listening to Donald Trump. Then, a pair minutes into his speech is once we had heard the pop, pop, pop. From my vantage level, it was to the left aspect of the stage. It was off of Donald Trump’s proper shoulder.
At first I believed it was fireworks. I had no concept what it was. Everybody was trying, no less than from the place I used to be standing, like, ‘What was that?’
And you can see Donald Trump. He was referencing a graphic exhibiting some border numbers throughout his administration. And you can see him, his face trying in that course as properly, like, ‘What was that?’ earlier than he touched his ear and dropped to the bottom.
From one course of the stage, off to his proper, was the place we may hear the gunshots. However then, on the left aspect of the stage, there was a inexperienced tractor, and after the primary spherical of the gunshots, of the bangs that we had heard, I consider that it had hit the tractor or one thing on the tractor, as a result of instantly there was this cloud. All of the steam got here out from the opposite aspect, the alternative aspect of the stage. After I talked to individuals on the bottom, they’d mentioned that they believed that the bullets had hit one thing within the truck that made the steam go off.
At first I bear in mind being like, ‘Is that this a part of this system? What’s taking place?’
After which, after all, we heard everybody screaming. Instantly, it went into absolute chaos. Secret Service telling us to get down on the bottom. My safety guard got here up onto the riser and grabbed me. He mentioned we have to get underneath the risers and pulled me underneath there, and basically threw me on the bottom after which put his physique on high of mine. And I bear in mind, I used to be like, I have to stand up and see what’s taking place. However he was holding me and different individuals round me down, simply saying, we are able to’t transfer. Keep down. Keep down. After which we may see individuals began cheering, and I glanced out from underneath the risers. And that’s when Donald Trump had been beginning to get up with Secret Service round him and placing his fist within the air and being escorted off the stage. And that’s once we crawled again out, and I went again on the risers to determine what was taking place and what to do subsequent.
When interviewing a number of of the attendees, lots of whom had been on the bleachers behind him, some who had been in one of many very entrance rows, they’d no concept what was occurring. Everybody was shocked, together with myself. I don’t suppose anybody had ever anticipated one thing like that to occur.
I used to be speaking with my producer earlier at present. Generally you go to those rallies, you go to so many, it’s the identical factor. You’re simply ready to listen to what Donald Trump has to say. However by no means in 1,000,000 years would we have now anticipated an assassination try like that. It’s simply one thing that I don’t suppose would ever cross our minds, since you at all times really feel so protected with the quantity of legislation enforcement and Secret Service on the bottom. Everybody I spoke with who was there, together with the individuals on the bleachers behind them, they’d no concept.
The venue was inside these fairgrounds, all grass. You had the big crowd, the press pen with the risers was in the midst of the group, and you then had the stage in entrance of us. However there was a fence, a series hyperlink fence, surrounding all of it, holding the rally inside. And the individuals subsequent to the fence, closest to the constructing the place the shooter was, some individuals over there had seen and seen that there was a shooter, and so they had been screaming. After which, you recognize, pictures broke out shortly after that.
However the individuals I talked to who had been behind him, they’d the same response to me, which was, ‘Might it have been fireworks?’
I interviewed one man, Joseph Meyn, he mentioned the identical factor. At first he thought it may very well be fireworks. ‘Might this be a part of this system?’ One girl I spoke with at present — her identify was Renee — she was saying she was immediately behind Donald Trump, on the stands behind him, and he or she had mentioned she didn’t actually perceive what was taking place till she noticed Donald Trump go down. And that’s when she thought, ‘Oh, wow, you need to get down. One thing actually dangerous is going on.’
Harrowing particulars of the try to assassinate Donald Trump
Instantly after, I went again onto the risers. Everybody’s disoriented. Persons are screaming within the crowd. We went reside, mainly instantly. I began speaking to Wolf Blitzer. A few minutes later, Secret Service simply began pushing everyone out, unplugging our gear and screaming at everybody, ‘You’ve obtained to get out of right here. You bought to exit the venue. That is an lively crime scene.’
They got here as much as the press, began to inform us we would have liked to go. Began to tug a few of us away and pull us down. (Cellphone) service additionally obtained jammed utterly. So at one level we had been advised that they began to jam all the towers for all of the service. So we couldn’t name anyone. We weren’t positive learn how to get involved with DC. Clearly, that was my first objective, once I was simply excited about what to do. However ultimately we simply began strolling out.
Lots of the rally attendees had been very indignant with the press. After I was nonetheless on stage, individuals had been screaming at us, saying, ‘That is your fault.’ I feel that they had been actually in search of an outlet for his or her anger, and at a Trump rally, Donald Trump typically talks about “pretend information.” Lots of people yell at us on a regular basis. That’s why we usually carry safety. So it was a heightened model of that.
We went outdoors the way in which that we had are available in, and so they closed down the car parking zone as properly. So everybody was attempting to get into their vehicles and depart the location, however they couldn’t. Folks had been caught of their vehicles for over an hour, possibly two or three hours, and we did some reside pictures, however then additionally we realized individuals aren’t transferring, they’re right here. So we simply began strolling round and saying, ‘Hello, would you thoughts doing an interview with us? We’d love to speak about your expertise and everybody in these moments.’
Most individuals felt that they wished to share what they’d seen and what they’d felt. And in order that’s how these happened.
Later Saturday night, we had seen movies circulating on social media of the place the suspected shooter was situated and in the end killed by counter snipers. Given we couldn’t exit the rally space by car, we ran over on foot with our gear. We had been the one digicam crew that I noticed, no less than at the moment, who had arrange in entrance of the constructing.
I noticed no less than a dozen police vehicles, some from the sheriff’s division, others state troopers, cordoning off the constructing. One officer later that night had confirmed it was the place the shooter had fired a collection of bullets towards Trump.