For Aaron Gaza and his girlfriend, Kailey Coelho, a day of joy and patriotism turned into their worst nightmare.

“It was the most traumatic thing I think I’ve ever been through," Coelho said. 

The Capital Region couple sat in the bleachers behind former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania when shots were fired.

“I didn’t think they were gunshots at first," Coelho said. "They were so loud, my ears were ringing. I was already sitting on the bleachers, and I felt my boyfriend fall first and then he went on top of me to protect me from the bullets. But then we heard screams, and we saw people falling to the left of us, and when I looked up and saw the blood, I was like, 'This is real. This is actually happening,'" Coelho said. 

This was Coelho’s first time attending a political rally, while Gaza has been to half a dozen in support of Trump since 2016.

He said this one had the tightest security, and in the moments before the gunshots, he could tell something was off.

“I had been looking behind the stands, watching Secret Service obviously alerted by something about a minute before. You could see the snipers getting out their rifles. You could see the crowd way beyond the rooftop. They were below the rooftop, and they were alerted by something. They were like running. You could see them scattering across the lawn. So as soon as the shots went off, I knew that it was something bad," Gaza said.

Both are hesitant to go to another large-scale event, but their message to others is simple.

“Obviously, you can’t live your life in fear. Just always have it in the back of your mind, like, this could happen and that it's a possibility. So just know your surroundings and knew what to do," Coelho said.