Andrew Davies, from Hobart, was on a work trip in the US to supply internet through his Wi-Fi business at the Gilroy Garden Festival when tragedy broke out
A man who was caught up in Sunday’s California festival shooting has told his harrowing story of survival.
Andrew Davies, from Hobart, Tasmania, was on a work trip in the US to supply internet through his Wi-Fi business at the Gilroy Garden Festival when tragedy broke out.
The shooting happened in the early evening on Sunday as the festival was wrapping up and Mr Davies was getting ready to leave.
The 40-year-old spent six hours bunkered down in a shed, hiding from a lone gunman who killed three people and injured 15.
The IT professional told The Mercury that he initially thought the sound of the gunshots was fireworks.
After returning home to Hobart on Thursday, the father-of-one said he knew something serious was unfolding when he saw a wave of people screaming and running in his direction.
‘A family raced in to the shed I was in and yelled ‘get cover, get cover’ but I didn’t really have anywhere to go. I was cornered,’ he said.
‘I did what everyone else around me did and stood around like a stunned mullet. I don’t know if that was the smartest thing to do, but I felt trapped — it all happened so fast.’
Mr Davies (left) spent six hours bunkered down in a shed, hiding from a lone gunman who killed three people and injured 15
He then witnessed paramedics give a woman CPR in a medical truck, but she was already dead.
Mr Davies said the situation only worsened when he found out police were on the hunt for a potential gunman who was described as wearing what clothes he had on.
‘Witnesses said there was someone wearing camouflage shorts helping the gunman. That’s what I was wearing. At that point a police officer came into where I was and said “you better stay down and don’t go anywhere”,’ he said.
Thankfully he wasn’t injured in the tragedy, but said there is ‘no doubt it’s going to leave a lasting impression’.
In the immediate aftermath, police and authorities then kept festival goers in lock down, which Mr Davies said was a draining experience after already running on five hours’ sleep for the last three nights.
The following day he was meant to go back to the festival and pack up, but instead booked the night flight back home.
After arriving back in Tasmania, Mr Davies said he feels more grateful than ever to live in Australia, admitting he’s always more cautious when in the US.
A gunman who opened fire on the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California Sunday evening was shot dead by police. Witness video appears to show officers surrounding the suspect after they took him town within seconds of when he started shooting
His main focus now is spending quality time with his fiance Nina and daughter Mollie.
But despite the atrocities he witnessed over the weekend, Mr Davies said he would go back to the festival again.
Some witnesses say the gunman (not pictured) moved ‘like a police officer’ because he was so efficient’
He also used the ordeal to highlight the need for the USA to toughen up their gun laws.
US authorities named Santino William Legan, 19, as the gunman after he slipped into the festival and fired an assault-style weapon into crowds before police shot him dead.
Survivors said Legan told them he was ‘really angry’ when they asked him why he wanted to kill them.
‘He didn’t say anything, nothing. He did not even look from side to side. He just kept looking forward,’ Cheryl Low, who was working at the festival, told an American news outlet.
Some witnesses say he moved ‘like a police officer’ because he was so efficient.
His victims were six-year-old Steven Romero, 13-year-old Keyla Salazar and 25-year-old Trevor Irby.
Survivors said Legan told them he was ‘really angry’ when they asked him why he wanted to kill them