A San Diego man who has traveled to several Trump rallies was just 10 yards from the former president when gunfire rang out in what officials are now calling an assassination attempt.
Blake Marnell, 59, was in the center of the first row of the audience facing Trump when he heard a noise that came from his left.
“I was 10 yards away from where from where Pres. Trump was speaking and the rally had just started,” he said. “I turned left to see what it was; at first, I thought it was a prank. It seemed really close and nearby, and it was really loud.”
Marnell, who was also in Newport Beach on June 8 when Trump visited a home on Harbor Island during a private fundraiser and in Las Vegas a day later, then watched as Secret Service agents came running onto the stage where Trump was standing.
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He knew the scenario was serious when he heard another series of shots.
“I thought, this is gunfire,” he said. “I squatted down for about five seconds, but I was concerned about the president. I could hear the Secret Service talking on stage and begin coordinating how they were moving him. I heard them do a countdown 5, 4, 3 … I didn’t know if I was going to see him carried out. I didn’t know how I would see him.”
He was relieved when he watched Trump — cloaked by Secret Service agents — stand up.
“I could see he had blood on his ear, but I didn’t know whose blood it was or what caused it,” Marnell said. “I could see by how he was shaking his fist and the fire in his eyes; it made me hopeful that he would be OK. He looked defiant and angry. He looked like he wanted to let people know he was OK.”
“When he did that pump, people were yelling and cheering,” Marnell said.
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As Trump was swept away by Secret Service, the spectators around him showed all kinds of emotions.
“People were crying, praying, angry and shocked and in disbelief,” Marnell said. “But there was no panic, people weren’t running.”
Once he saw Trump taken away and the response from additional law enforcement agents, all with guns drawn, he felt “safe enough.”
But he could also tell something had happened in the stands behind where the former president had stood on the stage.
“Members of the public were attending to someone injured,” he said, adding that he did not see the victims up close. But he knew by watching the behavior of those helping that something awful had happened.
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Marnell got to the rally site at 7 a.m., so he could get a front-row seat. The rally was the third he has attended. As a Republic National Committee delegate, he was on his way to Milwaukee, Wisc., when he learned of Trump’s plans to hold the rally in Butler County.
In 2019, during a campaign rally in Montoursville, Penn., Trump invited Marnell to come up on stage. Marnell was wearing a suit that had a brick wall design to represent a border wall, as USA Today reported.
“Now, we know who he’s voting for,” Trump said after shaking hands with him back then.
Marnell said he “wouldn’t think twice” about attending future rallies that Trump will hold.
“There will be a renewed focus on safety,” he said. “They’ll change the protocol and maybe the rallies won’t be held in big, open outside areas.”
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Marnell now looks forward to seeing Trump when he is announced as the Republican candidate, he said, vowing to support him.
Law enforcement at the scene of a fatal shooting in Oak Park, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. Courtesy Onscene.Media
Law enforcement is investigating a fatal shooting that took place Saturday night at an independent living facility in the neighborhood of Oak Park.
Police responded to calls about an assault with a deadly weapon on the 3100 block of 54th St. at around 10:24 p.m. and arrived to find a man with a gunshot wound to his upper torso.
“[There are] several people inside the house that detectives are speaking with,” Lt. Lou Maggi with San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit told Onscene.Media.
“About nine people inside the house and then several more people outside.”
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He added that investigators do not yet have a description of a suspect, but they do not believe that the shooting was random or that there is any threat to the community at large.
SDPD is asking anybody with any information to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293, or San Diego Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — At the beginning of December, it was a called a ‘last ditch effort,’ by Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre. On December 17th, Mayor Aguirre left for Washington D.C. to get funding for the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
Saturday, President Biden signed a federal funding bill that will dole out $250 million towards the full repair and expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant near our southern border. It’s been a long wait for relief for south bay residents — relief from the smell and relief from a federal level.
Back in August, we spoke with Everett Sena who expressed his frustration after living in the area with his wife for more than 40 years.
“We can smell it at night, you can smell it at the wee hours of the morning,” he tells us. “It’s pretty annoying. I mean we’ve dealt with it for years already and I just wish the system would be taken care of because we’ve dealt with it.”
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The action taken by the White House comes after Mayor Aguirre told ABC 10News she was going to push for a federal state of emergency while in D.C. and felt optimistic about her conversations with republican congress members.
In an Instagram post, Mayor Aguirre called it a’success.’
The Tijuana sewage crisis has been a decades long issue, 10news has been following along the way.
From county leaders calling for federal help including San Diego County Supervisor, Terra Lawson-Remer. At a presser back in Juneshe doubled down once again.
“We’ve been demanding that the state and federal government take urgent action to clean up the Tijuana sewage crisis and to protect public health.”
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And even the younger generation taking a stand, like the Imperial Beach Charter second graders who sent letters to the President.
This, while South Bay residents have been trying their best to adjust to the persistent stench, where they’ve called it terrible.
And while its a step in the right direction, Mayor Aguirre explains the fight is far from over.
“The plant itself is not going to solve the entire crisis. The plant will treat 50 million gallons per day of sewage once it’s completed, which won’t be for another 5 years.”
You can track the progress of the upgrades to the South Bay International Wastewater treatment plant here.
SAN DIEGO (CNS) — An alleged getaway driver was arrested today and accused of aiding an armed accomplice who robbed a gas station in San Diego, authorities said.
The robbery occurred around 7:10 a.m. Saturday at 3010 Market St. at a 76 station near the intersection of 30th Street in the Stockton neighborhood, according to the San Diego Police Department.
“He approached the cashier and displayed a firearm, demanding display items. The suspect got into the passenger side of a black Dodge truck which left the area,” the department reported.
The truck was later found along with the driver, who was identified as Juan Correa. He was arrested, police said.
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The armed suspect is at large. He was described as a man between 20 and 30 years old wearing a green hooded sweatshirt, face mask, dark pants, red gloves and black-and-white athletic shoes.
No injuries were reported. Authorities urged anyone with information related to the robbery to call the SDPD or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
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