Tragedy Struck Directly In Front Of Modesto Vendor's Booth At Gilroy Festival
MODESTO (CBS13) — A Modesto business says they were in the middle of the garlic festival shooting.
The owners of Harmony Tie Dye have been going to the festival for years. But this is the first time they feared for their lives. Brian Gleser, Owner of Harmony Tie-Dye took a video at the Garlic Festival just moments before the shooting. He calls this "ground zero" for where this tragedy happened.
"To have that kind of tragedy strike directly in front of our booth was terrifying," he said.
He said he still hears the moments he first heard gunshots.
"We went into our booth and gathered up. Seconds later was the 'pop, pop, pop,'" he said.
READ ALSO: Gilroy Stands Strong As Community Mourns Lives Lost In Mass Shooting
Gleser and his wife Heather hid underneath boxes in their booth. They saw police and pulled children to safety running by.
"We would see people running back there, and it was open, so then we saw the cops, and police and little girls running by, and we pulled them in," he said.
He says it felt like mere seconds before police took down the shooter.
"The silence just pervaded over everything. It was just eerie."
Since then, Gleser says the festival community has been coming together to provide transportation and hot meals to those whose businesses are still stuck inside the crime scene.
"People donated their time and some people brought people into their houses," Gleser said.
Now they call it a "waiting game" to get back into the grounds, so they can finally move forward.
"They've got the park locked down, the investigation is still underway, they have all of our stuff, they have our lives and we would love to have our lives back," he said.