A Pennsylvania woman who attended former President Trump’s rally on Saturday with her husband wasn’t initially sure if the popping sounds she heard were directly related to guns — the jolly atmosphere led her to think someone was setting off fireworks.
“It was a really beautiful day, and we were sitting there and it really sounded like a firecracker,” Chris Konopka, 56, of McMurray, Pennsylvania, told Fox News Digital by phone. “I didn’t panic, because I immediately thought, ‘Okay, who is the idiot that did this? They’re ruining everything for everybody.'”
Konopka said the day was incredibly hot, but energetic and full of “happy, upbeat and supportive” rally-goers.
“Nobody was drinking, nobody was chanting, nobody was screaming,” she said.
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Former President Trump addressed the crowd at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, when shots rang out, killing one man and wounding Trump and two others. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
Konopka, who was attending the rally for the first time, and her husband, who runs a small business in the Bethel Park neighborhood where the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, grew up, sat about 20 feet back from the stage with Trump.
She said it wasn’t until the couple got home that they realised the seriousness of the situation, as there was limited iPhone service at Butler Farm Showgrounds and they could only get text messages from her mother.
Trump was shot in the ear.
“I didn’t see any blood on his face,” Konopka said. “The guy was actually killed in the bleachers to our right. I thought, ‘Oh, that’s where I heard it. They caught the guy setting off fireworks,’ but I didn’t know the guy got shot.”
She added that there was no stampede and passers-by walked calmly and orderly to their cars.
“We were all just walking, and we were ushered outside, and everyone was waiting their turn,” she said. “And that vibe also made me think, ‘OK, let’s not react right away, let’s just sit back and be patient.’ It all happened so quickly.”
In the crowd nearby, a girl Konopka thought was 10 years old was crying.
“That’s what I was told,” she said.
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Konopka said she had never attended a rally before, but noted the lack of protection when entering the outdoor venue, which she described as “lax” security, including one metal detector.
“I remember my husband saying, ‘You know what, I don’t know about this,'” she said. “In my personal opinion, they made it so easy for me as a 20-year-old.”
While he said he didn’t know if some of the security guards were undercover, he believed Trump was at too great a risk with so little protection.
“It was a little surreal, but I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t surprised, I kind of expected it to happen,” Konopka said of the assassination attempt on Trump. “I just didn’t expect to have a front row seat to it. So it’s not surprising.”
Konopka is most interested in where the bullet that shot Trump is now.
“It probably would have hit someone two rows above me because a bullet wouldn’t stop and there was nothing behind the podium to stop it except people,” she said. “Where are the bullets?”
Konopka doesn’t believe Crooks had access to enough weapons or intelligence to act alone and says the Americans aren’t asking enough questions.
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Konopka offered condolences to the family of the man who died and said he was heartbroken by the loss, but was especially struck by the heroism of one World War II veteran in attendance.
“Everyone was crouching,” she said, “and without a second thought he just stood up straight and walked straight to the podium.”
She added that it was an “incredible” sight and gave her new hope for the future.
