Shooting witnesses describe scene, bused back after lockdown
Witnesses in Friday’s Planned Parenthood shooting were on lockdown for several hours.
Shoppers at King Soopers, near the scene of the shooting, were forced to stay inside. Fae Garcia Bush was one of the last ones to leave the store before it was placed on lockdown.
“We started walking just a few paces to our car. Our car was parked very close. At the corner, a man and woman were crouched down behind the cars and said, ‘Get down, get down. There’s an active shooter,’ so we huddled with them and just as we started to get down, we heard, ‘Pop, pop, pop, pop,'” Garcia Bush said.
Rod Winter saw an officer get shot at the Planned Parenthood building.
“A shot came from inside the building, blew out a window. He took one or two steps toward that window and was shot as well and went down. They came in later with the SWAT and picked him up,” Winter said.
Winter was on his way to visit his mother-in-law at a nursing facility when he saw an officer bleeding, near Planned Parenthood.
“He turned around with a bloody face and yelled, ‘Get out of here. Get out here.'”
Once the suspect was detained, witnesses’ were bused out. All witnesses cars had to be left overnight as police investigate the possibility of any explosives left behind or planted in cars.
Witnesses were bused to the VA and American Furniture Warehouse where family members and friends could pick them up.
Lora Noureddine’s co-worker was inside one of the businesses behind Planned Parenthood.
“She’s been there all day since 6 a.m. this morning and on lockdown. She said there was all kind of activity with SWAT and snipers on the building. That was really scary to think those people were in danger,” said Noureddine.
Dustin Apodaca was waiting to pick up his wife who was also inside a nearby business.
“She told me that some of her co-workers heard gun shots and she looked out the window and saw a woman who got shot and fell out of her car,” said Apodaca.
Bob Ruzicka communicated with his wife over text message until she was able to be released.
“I knew she was safe and said she was safe but you still worry. You just never know and waiting is hard,” said Ruzicka.
No word yet on when witnesses will be allowed to get their cars.
