Shop Employee Recalls Moments After Navy Sailor Was Shot Near Fort Detrick In Frederick, Action Employees Took To Help
FREDERICK, MD. (WJZ) — A Navy sailor is still in the hospital nearly a week after investigators say a fellow service member shot him and a second sailor at a military warehouse in Frederick.
Frederick Mayor Michael O'Connor said he visited about four businesses on Monday where workers and clients in those businesses helped the victims minutes after they were shot.
"Employees were on the front lines of what happened last Tuesday. It's taking them a little bit of a time to continue to process what they've been through," said Mayor O'Connor.
One of those employees who became a first responder was Garett Wagner. Wagner is the operations manager at Nicolock Paving Stones. He said he was in a meeting at the very moment 26-year-old Navy sailor, Casey Nutt was outside ducking behind cars and hiding from the shooter. Wagner described what happened when Nutt ran into the business to take cover.
"A gentleman walked in the door in military fatigue and he said he'd been shot," says Wagner. "He was scared. His eyes were so wide. I've never seen another human being or another man look like that in my entire life. Just the fear in face,"
Investigators say Navy medic, Fantahun Girma Woldesenbet also shot Hospital Corpsman First Class Carlos Portugal. According to this GoFundMe page which refered to the victim as "Carlo Portugal", he's currently at Walter Reed in the ICU.
Officials say Woldesenbet then drove to Fort Detrick, pass a check point and that's when officials on the base shot and killed him.
The injured servicemember who sought refuge in a business across the street, was released from the hospital that same day. Wagner says he's not ready to take praise for what he did that day.
"I don't want to say I'm a hero. I cannot explain why I did what I did. I can't explain why they did what they did. We just did it. I couldn't tell you if I would do it again," says Wagner.
If you would like to help Portugal, you may click the link here.