32 People Describe The Grisly Horror Of Seeing Someone Get Murdered
"All I remember is watching the police pull up to our house, come inside, and shoot my father."
1. All I remember is watching the police pull up to our house, come inside, and shoot my father.
“When I was four, someone called the police for a domestic dispute coming from our address. No dispute going on. All I remember is watching the police pull up to our house, come inside, and shoot my father. No one’s ever given me the details of what really happened that day…but I’ve grown up dealing with PTSD. A less intense form of it, usually showing up with my depressive episodes and OCD. Seeing something like that as a child never really goes away….Well, my family went into a million-dollar lawsuit with my town’s police force and lost. My grandparents lost their entire life’s savings trying to prove my father was innocent. I’m 20 years old now and still trying to piece together what I can about what happened. In short, evidence was corrupt and they did indeed get away with it.”
2. I looked through the back of the bus at the now-empty street and saw his body lying in the gutter, gushing blood down the street.
“I saw a few shootings when I lived around Guatemala City. I’m not sure exactly which ones were fatalities except for one. I was standing in a city bus looking out the window at the passengers boarding when I saw a hand press a gun into a guy’s temple just a few feet from me and shoot him. Everyone scattered and the bus took off. I looked through the back of the bus at the now-empty street and saw his body lying in the gutter, gushing blood down the street.”
3. Back in 1996 I was in Russia watching a guy bash a girl’s head with a rock until her skull exploded.
“Back in 1996 I was in Russia watching a guy bash a girl’s head with a rock until her skull exploded. I was a kid, around 12 years old, hanging around the small thug group, the guy was a small time thug a bit older than me (everyone was tho). her skull exploded and her brains and blood splattered across the asphalt. Others were standing in the circle, about 12 people, watching how it would end. I was watching with sort of morbid curiosity, cuz I have never seen inside of a human before. Death was commonplace in Russia back then, so no one was really moved by it. She was killed because she was the girlfriend of a guy, then cheated on him, and gave him HIV. In the end, he died like in a couple of months in some gunfight, I think. No one called the police as well then, for some weird reason.”
4. The shot took off half of the guy’s head, sending blood and tissue up like a mist.
“I saw a guy get shot in the head while I was at work. Guy was getting jumped at the apartment complex while I was mowing grass. One of the guy’s friends ran out with a gun and fired off a shot that struck one of them. It was a larger caliber revolver and the shot took off half of the guy’s head, sending blood and tissue up like a mist.”
5. The junkie grabs old guy’s head and repeatedly smashes it against a wall.
“I was studying in Prague and one day heard some screams in the street. Went to the balcony and saw a guy that looked like a junkie walking with a woman and screaming to an old man that looked homeless. After a minute or so, the junkie grabs old guy’s head and repeatedly smashes it against a wall. Junkie proceeds to calmly walk down the street with the woman like nothing happened. Ambulance and police comes, they close that part of the sidewalk for two days and that was it. Happened in the middle of the day with people watching. There was A LOT of blood on that wall. Way more than I expected.”
6. The guy’s head was caved in, brain matter on the concrete and blood everywhere.
“Okay, I live in a small, drug-infested town. Logtown, VA. It’s about equal distance between NY and Miami. Drug haven…
About two years ago, I was pretty heavy into selling drugs. I was at my ‘plug’s’ house when I heard come type commotion going on in the back yard. It’s a very remote part of VA and his property was surrounded by nothing but open spaces and trees. I distinctly remember hearing ‘please dawg, I’ll get him the money, I fucked up, please.’ I asked my homie what was going on, he said ‘dude trippin’ but still owes me 5 grand’” apparently the man was still selling drugs (he bought from someone else) while he still owed my homie 5 grand. I started to walk out back to see who it was, as I stepped at back I saw the man standing over the guy look at my homie and my homie gave him a nod and bam…the loudest, most frightening moment in my life just occurred. The gun was only about one foot from the guy’s head when the trigger was pulled. The side and the guy’s head was caved in, brain matter on the concrete blood everywhere. My homie look at me and said, ‘you better be glad we always be boys.’”
7. On the 22nd of May 2017 I attended the Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester.
“On the 22nd of May 2017 I attended the Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester, a terror attack occurred at the end of the concert leaving over 100 injured and 22 dead. I’m not going into detail since I’m still recovering mentally but let’s just say that no 16-year-old should have to see such violence at a teen concert.
I got home at 5AM that night and cried myself to sleep, was in shell shock for a week and didn’t sleep or eat a thing. Got counseling and I am finally coming to terms that I need to live my life since I’m so fortunate to get out that arena alive.”
8. A middle-aged-looking gangster calmly walked up to the window, pulled out a pistol, and shot the minivan driver in the head point-blank.
“When I was nine we were leaving the Detroit fireworks (if that’s what it was called). In front of us was an older minivan and in front of them was a black Suburban. Well, the Suburban ended up doing a couple erratic driving moves/brake checking, so the minivan laid on the horn and gave the finger. Out of the Suburban comes a middle-aged-looking gangster who calmly walked up to the window, pulled out a pistol, and shot the minivan driver in the head point-blank. I’m not kidding, I remember cops on horseback swarming the place and questioning the fuck out of us and everyone around us but ended up letting us go.”
9. It was so surprisingly quiet. Just a slump to the concrete and the police showed up the next day.
“Knife attack in the alley behind the methadone clinic by my old place. It was so surprisingly quiet. Just a slump to the concrete and the police showed up the next day.”
10. One began to stab the other with a screwdriver. Then he proceeded to remove the hand rail and beat him to a pulp.
“Was on the light rail going through a shady part of town. Two prison inmates just got out and one began to stab the other with a screwdriver. Then he proceeded to remove the hand rail and beat him to a pulp. Meanwhile, I just sat there eating my banana shaking my head. Just another day on this dam train.”
11. She was far enough away that I only saw her fall.
“I saw Linda Franklin get gunned down from a distance. I saw their getaway car but it didn’t click at the time since everyone was looking for a white van. She was far enough away that I only saw her fall. She was maybe 100 yards away. Luckily I wasn’t closer as I didn’t want to see the aftermath. Almost everyone in the lot stampeded the Home Depot after that. I was a little too shocked to do anything but I stood there for what seemed like forever and eventually went back inside to get my friend at the neighboring bookstore. It took almost four hours to get anywhere close to home, but we wound up staying in a hotel for the night as the roads back into the city were closed off. We went through a ton of checkpoints and the police were super thorough checking all the vehicles.”
12. A guy on a motorcycle came in and just shot him multiple times with a rifle and drove off.
“Happened a few years ago just outside our house. A man was walking on the street when a guy on a motorcycle came in and just shot him multiple times with a rifle and drove off. He was still barely alive begging for help but eventually died.”
13. The younger guy pulled out a knife, stabbed the older one in the arm, in the side, and the last one in the neck.
“Saw a murder from my kitchen window. I live in Lithuania and there are loads of those nine-floor boxes of flats that were built in the Soviet times, I live on the 3rd floor. In Lithuania there is a big problem with young people, teens turning bad and stuff, glad I didn’t get involved with these people. So I saw a 17-18-year-old guy walk out of the flat and meet a 16-year-old guy that I knew, basically they got into an argument and it spiraled into a fight, seeing that he was losing the younger guy pulled out a knife, stabbed the older one in the arm, in the side, and the last one in the neck. Then he ran away; the older guy died two or three hours later in the hospital. The murderer gave himself up the next day.”
14. I go over to the window to the balcony and see a guy unload the clip on another guy that was still strapped in his car.
“Was making breakfast one beautiful Saturday morning. I hear two or three pops outside. I go over to the window to the balcony and see a guy unload the clip on another guy that was still strapped in his car in the entry to the parking lot. The guy was clearly already dead from the first couple shots to the head. The car, still in drive, rolls across the parking lot and hits a curb which brings it to a stop. Shooter just stands around waiting for the cops to pull up. When they do, he quite calmly puts his gun down on the ground beside him and puts his hands up in the air.”
15. A group of (obviously) masked women came out and mauled him with knives or sharp objects.
“I was on a census patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan. Passing a crossroads, I saw a local walking by some houses. A group of (obviously) masked women came out and mauled him with knives or sharp objects.
The locals said he was an insurgent and had been threatening/raping them. We kept walking.”
16. Dad cocked the gun to grandpa’s head when mom’s boyfriend returned just in time and shot dad in the head.
“My father told my mother he’d kill her if she ever left him (she trapped him into marriage, he became very abusive). She divorced him and started dating. Mom with her new bf, my sister & I were visiting grandma & grandpa sitting in the LR when my dad removed his shoes to walk across the front porch and barged in the front door. Everyone scattered. Grandma, mom, and sister ran upstairs while I ran to the kitchen. Dad was waiving a gun so mom’s BF went to his truck to get his gun. Grandpa blocked the staircase so dad couldn’t get to my mom. Dad cocked the gun to grandpa’s head when mom’s boyfriend returned just in time and shot dad in the head. Mom ended up marrying bf and he is a great dad. He adopted my sister & I and they had my brother. A lot of dysfunction in our family, but have no doubt my sister & I would be very different people now if dad was in our lives.”
17. One guy runs away, and another kid (maybe 18ish) kinda crumples to the ground. A lot of blood starts pooling around the kid.
“I was in Greece when they hosted the Olympics years ago. One night, my cousins took me and my brother to the bars/clubs in Tripoli, where we got relatively smashed. We stepped outside and saw a commotion in the street. Looked like a small scuffle between several guys. One guy runs away, and another kid (maybe 18ish) kinda crumples to the ground. A lot of blood starts pooling around the kid. I remember this very vividly, since the kid was dressed very nicely (think Jersey Shore) and was wearing a white shirt. A few of his friends kinda stand there in shock, and I think one of them kinda held him.
I remember no one chasing the guy who ran, and no one freaked out as much as I expected. I also remember wanting to go over and help the guy (I had just taken a first aid/CPR class, and thought I could help, ’cause no one was actively helping or putting pressure on the wound). My brother and cousin kinda grabbed me and ushered me away, telling me I shouldn’t get involved (they were very likely correct that it wasn’t a good idea and that I probably couldn’t help). We were staying at a hotel just around the corner, maybe 1-2 blocks away, and just went back to our room.
The next morning, we heard that the kid had died and that the murderer has been caught. It turns out that the victim was an Albanian kid who was out with his friends, got drunk, and talked some shit to some Greeks when watching the Olympics at a bar. One of those Greeks, presumably also drunk, escalated the situation until it spilled onto the street and turned into a stabbing.
Never been less proud to be a Greek.”
18. The third guy gets in the way and gets shot. Two times.
“I was a valet at a night club. A guy walks out, arguing with another guy who came out shortly after him. I’m not sure what’s going on, but the first guy hands me his coupon and I run off to get his car. As I’m rounding a corner, my headlights illuminating the two, and now a third person between them, I see the first guy pull out a gun and attempt to shoot the guy who followed him out but the third guy gets in the way and gets shot. Two times.
The shooter runs toward me, the guy driving his car, but I drove off, more scared than trying to prevent his escape.
I park the car not far away, take the keys, and run back to the club. People are panicking and I quickly run off as well.
I don’t know and don’t care how anyone got their cars back after that and I never returned to that club. (It soon closed and became a restaurant).
The victim was apparently a random dude who was just walking by and tried to stop a fight. He lived nearby and it was the Saturday night before Mother’s Day. Reading about it the next morning broke my heart.”
19. Beater car pulls a drive by and mows these dudes down.
“Friends and I were walking back to our cars after attending a dinner at another friend’s house. Everyone was military.
Couple dudes on the corner, no big deal, we live in a sketchy area. Beater car pulls a drive by and mows these dudes down.
Everyone dashes for cover. Three of us shoot at the car since a good amount of the rounds hit pretty close to us. We run over to the guys on the corner. One was gone, the other wasn’t gonna make it. CPR didn’t help and we basically stuck around till the police and medical arrived.
Ruined one of my favorite shirts.”
20. The junkie pulled the trigger. I just kinda froze and stared.
“Was staying at a shitty motel in probably the worst part of Nashville six or so years ago, heard a bunch of screaming outside so obviously I looked.
Across the parking lot a guy was holding a gun to another guy’s head. Dude with the gun was a druggie—meth or heroin or something—he was rail-thin and had sores all over him…and that was kinda what you saw there.
Anyway, a bunch of yelling I could not understand through motel glass and junkie pulled the trigger. I just kinda froze and stared. It is not as much blood as TV and games make you think it would be.
Spent a dazed couple hours talking to cops, or it felt like it anyway. Some point I went to sleep, then woke up and went to work cause if I missed a day I could not buy another week at the motel and would be homeless again.
Not as spectacular as pop culture depicts it, but it really sticks with you. Would not recommend.”
21. Giant dude pulls out a knife and stabs homeless guy in the neck.
“Used to live downtown Flint, Michigan. Was sitting in my window seat smoking a joint, top floor of my apartment. There’s a homeless guy hanging around the doors to the complex across the street—they do this to sneak inside and sleep in the stairwells on colder nights.
Giant dude comes out, and homeless guy sprints for the door. Giant dude tries to shove it closed, homeless guy bites him. Giant dude pulls out a knife and stabs homeless guy in the neck. Blood splatters the big glass windows, homeless guy slides down the shut door with his hand clapped to his neck. Giant guy simply walks away.
Cops come, (I had no phone to call at the time) guy is dead, stick him in a body bag. I call out that I witnessed it, ask if I should come give a statement. Cop says don’t bother, just a homeless WOP. I was so very sad and stared at that bloodstain on the cement nightly. Poor guy, he was just trying to stay warm.”
22. Everything took about 10 seconds but it felt like hours.
“When I was kid, I witnessed a gang murder (execution style).
Was dribbling my soccer ball from the local park and I saw a pitch-black car pull into a driveway two houses down from where I was and a guy in a ski mask got out. Soon-to-be-dead-guy answers the door, and guy in ski mask hits him in the stomach (or balls, couldn’t see due to a chain link fence partially blocking my view). With the guy stumbling from getting him, the other guy pulls out his gun and instantly shoots guy in the head and dips. Everything took about 10 seconds but it felt like hours.
My mom had us move out that same night.
I had forgotten about this until Breaking Bad came out and there was a particular death scene that reminded me of what I saw, which was like WTF.”
23. When the kid with the knife moved out of the way, I saw the victim’s shirt covered in blood, then collapse.
“I witnessed a stabbing where the victim bled to death in my high school. Ended up being a witness. It was over a girl, who was pregnant within a year, by a completely different guy. I only saw the last part where he was stabbed. When I saw it, I thought it was just him being pushed in the stomach, which I thought was odd. Then when the kid with the knife moved out of the way, I saw the victim’s shirt covered in blood, then collapse. The assailant put his shirt over his head I guess to hide his face and ran out of school.
I ran up to the victim taking off my shirt to apply pressure. But I saw this huge pool of blood and knew there was nothing I could do. As I stood looking at him a big crowd came, everyone taking pictures and acting like fucking idiots. He was just looking at me though. I’m glad he didn’t see the other people taking pics and shit.
I ran up to the school admins and security as soon as they arrived telling them what the kid who ran off was wearing, and which way he ran off. He was found within 15 minutes.
I tried to save him and it still haunts me sometimes. I still see his face looking up to me, hoping I could save him and this was about 8 years ago.
During the trial the assailant was trying to say it was self-defense, I believe I’m part of the reason of why he was given a long sentence with what I said to the judge. I’d never seen someone give me a look filled with so much hatred as the assailant did that day when I was being questioned in court.”
24. The thugs ended up kicking his head a few more times while he was out.
“It was Halloween 2010. There was a huge street party the night before Halloween in a college town where I lived. Every porch was packed, streets were flooded with people, etc.
As we get toward one end of the street, we see a fight break out between some college students and some thugs definitely not from the area. Once the fight starts, we eventually see one of the kids get knocked out, head hits the pavement.
The thugs ended up kicking his head a few more times while he was out. He eventually died, and the thugs that did it were arrested. Very sad.”
25. The worst stabbing I saw was blood everywhere but the kid knew they were dying.
“I lived in a bad area growing up with lots of gangs and border violence….Witnessed a few stabbings. A beating to death.
Honestly, the stabbing is the most awful thing to see someone die from. The shootings tended to be quick. The one I saw during class looked like a marionette having its strings cut. The worst stabbing I saw was blood everywhere but the kid knew they were dying. Wanted their mom. Pleaded for God to save him. But there was no stopping the blood. It was slick and everywhere and it smelled acrid. And then it slows down and they die and there’s nothing anyone could do. And you swear you see them breathing. They moved. They blinked. But you know they are dead. It happened with the shootings, too, but I think cause it’s slower your brain can’t believe it.”
26. Watched a guy being dragged by the hair and then get stabbed multiple times.
“I was 6/7ish. Was sitting in my mom’s car late in the evening. Watched a guy being dragged by the hair and then get stabbed multiple times. Mom just read a prayer and carried on driving. It was in the newspaper the next day. I remember being confused and upset that she didn’t stop and call the police/ ambulance. I’ve tried asking her about it, but she was in pretty severe depression at that point of her life and can’t remember any of that time.”
27. Saw a pregnant lady get gunned down by three men in the pay parking lot across the street.
“Used to live in a rented warehouse attached to a homeless shelter so I saw all kinds of drug-fueled shenanigans and fucked-up stuff. Saw a pregnant lady get gunned down by three men in the pay parking lot across the street. Went out to go to work the next day and you could see all the spots where the evidence and forensics people had found shell casings; there were too many to count.”
28. The guy getting shot at starts to run but gets hit square, dropping to the ground.
“Growing up in SF I’ve seen a lot of death. I’ve witnessed three murders and two deaths.
First time, my daycare was across the street from a project building. I saw a car drive up and the passenger jump out shooting at a guy hanging by the corner. That guy dropped and passenger ran back to the car and off it went. Police interviewed everyone at the day care, but was only about 7 at the time so, that’s that.
Second time, was visiting my father with my new shiny bike. Was riding it around his project building. There was a group of guys shooting dice and drinking beer between the building. Argument happened and one guy pulled out a pistol and shot another. My uncle ran up and picked me and the bike up together and rushed me inside the house. Police came. We stayed inside the whole time. Was around 8 or 9.
Third time was about 12 waiting for the bus home from school. A car makes a fast stop at a green light, driver gets out of the car and opens the hood of the car, grabs what looks like a plastic bag and starts firing a gun wrapped in that plastic bag at a guy. The guy getting shot at starts to run but gets hit square, dropping to the ground. Dude stands over him shooting 4 more times. Then runs back to car and drives off. People running and screaming. I ran down a block and got on a bus home.”
29. Two guys carrying shotguns walk up to the car and blast the guy’s head off.
“Me and my brother were driving home from a movie at like 11:00 pm. we lived in a sketchy neighborhood so violence wasn’t uncommon. I remember this vividly. There was a black Mercedes car in front of us stopped at a red light, it was really weird to see such a nice car in the ghetto like this and so me and my brother assumed he was a drug dealer. Two guys carrying shotguns walk up to the car and blast the guy’s head off. Weird thing was they just left, they didn’t even steal the car. Brother called the police, I checked on the guy which was the worst mistake of my life because seeing a man with his head blown off is one of the most gruesome and mentally scarring things you can see. His head was in hundreds of pieces in the passenger side. There was so much fucking blood I literally threw up when I saw it. No movie could ever give the effect of just how horrible it looked. Turns out the guy was in some gang, the murderers never got caught.”
30. After they stabbed him a couple more times they ran away and I just heard moans of pain; wave after wave of mind-numbing pain just out in the open for everyone to hear.
“I use to live in a bad neighborhood as a kid (6-7) and I remember vividly even though it felt like a dream, when I was outside in my front yard hiding in the bushes because of a hide and seek game that I really wanted to win, no one was expecting anyone to be outside, it was a strict in-house game but I was a rebel.
So this guy in a purple striped shirt was walking down the street and these two other guys in red hoodies confronted him and one of them stabbed the purple-striped-shirt guy in the chest not even 10 seconds after they met. He yelled but tried to fight back since he also had a knife but one of the hoodied guys beat him to the floor and was just punching away. I mean, I remember the pounding after pounding which sounded like when you smash a hammer against a sheetrock. After they stabbed him a couple more times they ran away and I just heard moans of pain; wave after wave of mind-numbing pain just out in the open for everyone to hear. Then it just stopped. He laid there, I didn’t know what death really was at the time but had a vague idea that if someone got hit hard enough, they’d sleep forever. The few seconds it took me to process the stains on his shirt, his hands on the sides of his stomach, and everything else, the couple from in front of the house ran outside and were already on the phone. I guess they saw everything but were scared shitless. The husband just kept talking to him and tried to wake him up and doing CPR but the wife was screaming, crying, and just overreacting. The ambulance eventually came, but other than that I can’t remember anything else. My mom and dad screamed at me and whooped me (yes they did, idc) for being outside but nothing else. They later told me that the guy was fine but I know he died.
The event itself didn’t traumatize me bad fortunately. After I started getting in touch with how life worked death just didn’t seem to affect me as much as others. I stopped worrying about it months later. I had the occasional nightmare here and there but just came to terms that I was there at the wrong time, wrong place. I don’t like seeing deaths occur or just videos of it but if I happen to stumble upon it I won’t care as much as the average person would.”
31. Blood started spurting everywhere and he grabs his neck with this wide-eyed look.
“Used to live in a bad neighborhood when I was about 12. There were some gangbangers in the area but I only bought weed occasionally so never got too mixed in with them, however in my young mind I kind of considered them friends, it was about five black guys who loved that this little white dude came over to buy pot.
They were always showing off their guns to me so I started carrying my mom’s .38 around the house because I was told to be careful by one of the guys there and I knew it was a bad neighborhood.
One evening I was sitting on the front porch smoking when a black/dark green SUV screeches to a stop in the road in front of me, windows down, and opens fire on the house. The guys on the porch fire back and pegged the dude in the backseat in the neck. Blood started spurting everywhere and he grabs his neck with this wide-eyed look.
They speed off and the cops never even showed up. That event gave me a huge understanding of how bad poor areas really have it. When a gunfight can happen and there aren’t even police around.”
32. One boy threw a punch at another, kid fell and smacked his head on the cement curb. Died a few hours later at the hospital.
“Didn’t know it was a murder at the time, just thought it was a bar brawl.
I was working in the kitchen of a pub and was taking out the trash when I saw a large group of young kids spill out into the parking lot. It was two boys each with their groups of friends. I’m sure they were all just barely 18 and it was their first year out of high school.
One boy threw a punch at another, kid fell and smacked his head on the cement curb. Died a few hours later at the hospital and the one who threw the punch went to jail for a few years.
Pretty sad.
Here’s a link.”
