Paul NelsonChannel 2 News
As we learn more about what happened during Tuesday's shooting at an IHOP in Carson City that killed four and injured seven others, we're also meeting more people who were there when it all unfolded.
That included two men, Roger Hovden and Larry Sowell, who helped people escape from the building, and then went back inside to help.
"We heard the firing and then it started raining, not so much bullets, but shrapnel," Hovden said. "He had tried to shoot us through the plexiglass. I looked behind us and the shooter was there, shooting right down, which I guess would've been the military table at that time."
Sitting at that table were five members of the National Guard, who were the first ones to be fired at. What started out as a business meeting over breakfast, suddenly became a war zone.
"I figured we were the next in the sequence because it looked to me like he was just working his way down," Hovden said.
"I was the one sticking out like a sore thumb," Sowell said. "You know, on the edge of the booth."
Sowell was looking straight ahead at the alleged shooter, Eduardo Sencion, as he fired round after round, hitting 11 people. The four men immediately took cover, under the table.
"I'm not going to be a sitting duck in the booth because these military guys had no chance because they were in a booth, like we were," Hovden said.
The four men were faced with a decision: Wait it out, or make a run for it. An emergency exit was just a few feet away.
"One way or another," Hovden said. "We're getting through that door so that somebody knows we're in there."
The men made it to the door, sounding an alarm, which they think may have caused the man to leave. They immediately started yelling to everyone to get out.
"Roger was dragging somebody with their child," Sowell said. "'Move!' And, he's literally dragging them. Pulling them. 'Get out, right now.'"
After getting as many people to safety as possible, the men had another decision to make.
"We seen people that needed help and we didn't even think about where he was," Sowell said.
"I went back in, real cautious," Hovden said. "Man, I was scared to death, but I went back in to see if I could see anything."
They went back into the building to help the wounded, not knowing how serious it was.
"There was a guardsman sitting up," Sowell said. "I thought he was fine. I remember, 'Hey, you're in shock. You okay?' and I realized he wasn't. He wasn't fine, he was gone. That was when it really set in for me."
"Mr. Gunderson was the first one I seen," Hovden said. "He was on the floor and I was listening to him, trying to figure out if there was anything I could do for him. He said he was shot in the leg."
Gunderson's wife, Florence, was a few feet away, mortally wounded. Major Heath Kelly and Master Sergeant Christian Riege were still in their booth, both with fatal gunshot wounds.
Three other guardsmen were also suffering from gunshots, including Sergeant First Class Miranda McElhiney, who was still conscious.
"She was bleeding," Sowell said. "You know, there's a lot of blood. I don't even know where it was coming from."
"I thought she was going to be fine," Hovden said. "I really thought she was okay."
McElhiney was taken to Renown Medical Center, but passed away later that night.
"It's terrible," Sowell said. "It's terrible that anybody lost their life. Especially, when you see somebody, conscious, and you think they're going to be okay."
Meanwhile, Hovden was helping another wounded guardsman, who had been shot in the arm. He wanted water, so Roger grabbed some ice for him.
"He reached up and took it with his good hand," Hovden said. "He reached up. I could see it was all full of blood."
Police and paramedics arrived shortly afterwards and took over from there. That's when they learned Sencion had turned the gun on himself, and died a few hours later. Roger and Larry say, they were put in an extraordinary situation, but don't consider themselves heroes.
"We don't feel like heroes at all because we didn't prevent the lives from being lost," Sowell said. "We just reacted."
"No, absolutely not," Hovden said. "Those four that lost their lives are the heroes."
Both men tell Channel 2 News that it's been an emotional struggle to get past what they went through that day. Neither one has had a chance to visit the surviving victims from that day, but both say they look forward to that opportunity.
If you would like to see the full interviews from Roger and Larry, we have them posted online on our main page.
