Jake Traylor is being thanked for his bravery after shielding some of his colleagues when gunfire broke out at Donald Trump’s campaign rally on Saturday in Pennsylvania.
Jake, the son of UTSA head football coach Jeff Traylor, was covering the rally as an NBC News campaign reporter when a 20-year-old man attempted to assassinate former president Trump from a nearby rooftop.
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As the gunfire rang out and attendees crouched to the ground to avoid being hit, Jake used his body to shield his colleague, senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott for ABC News.
Hours after the shooting on Saturday, Scott took to X (formerly Twitter) to thank Jake and share a video of the incident.
“Extremely grateful for my security, Jeff who yanked me off the press riser & (Jake Traylor) who covered me on the ground. (Olivia Rinaldi) who kept us calm,” Scott posted. “My heart goes out to everyone who was here tonight.”
This was the moment we dove for cover as gunshots rang out
— Rachel Scott (@rachelvscott) July 14, 2024
Extremely grateful for my security, Jeff who yanked me off the press riser & @jake__traylor who covered me on the ground. @olivialarinaldi who kept us calm
My heart goes out to everyone who was here tonight https://t.co/AbbmketCcx
During an interview with NBC News, Jake said it was “harrowing” when the gunfire started. Jake and his colleagues were expecting a vice president announcement when Trump dropped to the ground.
“We were all just covering each other and although that lasted a handful of seconds, that felt like a very long time,” said Jake.
When people exited the event as it was declared a crime scene, Jake said there was plenty of uncertainty in what happened. People were filled with anger and confusion.
Two people were killed in the attempted assassination of Trump, including the shooter, who was killed by Secret Service. Two other attendees were wounded.
On Monday, Coach Traylor released the following statement on Jake’s behalf, saying his son “is wired differently.”
“I didn’t get to speak to him until late that night because he was covering the event. He was pretty shook up. I did not find out about him taking cover on the ground and protecting his colleagues until I saw it on social media,” Coach Traylor said. “It doesn’t surprise me that Jake didn’t tell me. The kid is just wired differently. Obviously, I am very proud of what he did, but it doesn’t surprise me in the least. That has always been Jake. It was just a sad and horrible scene.”
“My prayers continue to go out to everyone who was affected by this tragic event,” said Coach Traylor.