SMITHFIELD, Va. (WTVR) - Mark Craddock is one of 800,000 furloughed government employees.
The Smithfield resident works at the Norfolk Naval Base and doesn't know when he'll be receiving his next paycheck because of the government shutdown.
Mark and his wife, Teresa planned to protest the shutdown and speak with their Congressman in D.C. on Thursday afternoon
"We needed to do something more than sit," Craddock said.
The two were able to talk face to face with Congressman Randy Forbes about their frustrations with the government shutdown.
But it was what happened after that conversation that still has them in shock.
"We were greeted with gunshots," said Mark.
The couple says they were just 100 feet away from Thursday afternoon's chaos outside the U.S. Capitol.
"I'm yelling get down get down," said Mark.
The incident unfolded right before there eyes where multiple police sources said Miriam Carey ran into a barricade leading police on a chase where she was shot and killed.
"I remember seeing the police officer kneeling into that crouch, the firing position with his gun drawn and he was firing," said Teresa.
