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The scene that unfolded in Virginia Wednesday bore some similarity to a scene here in Arizona six years ago.
In 2011, Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head. In that same incident, six people were killed and more than a dozen others were wounded.
On Wednesday, Giffords' former intern, Daniel Hernandez Jr., spoke to FOX 10 Phoenix.
Hernandez, now a state representative, is credited with helping to save Giffords' life. He said days like today aren't easy, and it brought back a lot of painful memories.
"For me personally, it brought back that flood of memories because what happened today was not just an attack on a member of Congress or public staffers, it was an attack on democracy. Just like it was 6 years ago against Congresswoman Gabby Giffords," said Hernandez.
Six years ago, Hernandez helped save the life of Giffords, after she was shot in the head by a gunman at a Safeway, during a public event near Tucson. Hernandez helped provide first aid to Giffords, and said looking at todays events, the investigation needs time.
"I think one of the first things that we have to fight back against is trying to assign reasons or blame right away until we really know what happened," said Hernandez. "I think for the first 48 to 72 hours, details are going to be trickling in, and we need to be careful because I remember being in the ambulance with Gabby, holding her head and hearing on NPR that she had been killed."
Hernandez said he'll never forget his experience with something like this, and he's is hoping everyone involved in todays shooting will recover.
"There's so much chaos and there's a lot of trauma, so I think for all of the people that were there, elected officials or staff or police officers see in something like this is going to be something that stays with them for the rest of their life," said Hernandez.