Houston Congressional aide shot in attack talks to ABC13

CAPITOL HILL (KTRK) -- A day after being shot while at a Congressional Republican baseball practice in Virginia, Houston-native Zack Barth was walking around Capitol Hill, speaking to a sea of lights and cameras.

In an interview with ABC13's Ted Oberg, Barth said he's recovering quickly from the gunshot that hit him in the calf.
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"I'm very blessed that the bullet went straight through," Barth said.

Barth said the day was normal until a single gunshot that got everyone's attention. Then chaos.
"I heard somebody say, 'He's got a gun! Run!'"



That's when Barth started running.
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"There was nowhere I could go," Barth said. "There was no gate or anything. So, I hit the deck. Then I saw the shooter train his rifle on me."



Barth said he could see pops of dirt flying up around him as he lay flat in the outfield. Then a shot hit him.

"At that point, my adrenaline was in full gear and my fight or flight took over. I decided if I wanted to live, I couldn't stay there. So I ran down the first baseline jumped into the dugout. I was running for my life."

Soon after, Capitol Police opened fire on the assailant.

Barth, like many others, credit that with his survival.
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"The loss of life would've been tremendous."

Now Barth wants to continue his work.



"I just appreciate the opportunity to have another day on this earth," Barth said.

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