Ari Fleischer Says He Could’ve Been a Fort Lauderdale Victim if Not For a Last-Minute ‘Pit Stop’

Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer was inside Terminal 2 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Friday when a gunman opened fire — killing five people and injuring eight others. And according to Fleischer, were it not for an impromptu “pit stop,” he could’ve been a victim of the attack.

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In an interview with The Daily Beast, Fleischer said that he was en route to the baggage claim area where the shooting took place before deciding to make a last-minute detour.

“I had just stepped off my flight from New York and was going to head down the escalator to the baggage claim, but had to make a pit stop,” Fleischer said. “Thank God I had to make a pit stop.”

Fleischer reports that he was in the men’s room when he heard a “pop-pop-pop, pop-pop-pop” sound, at which point he decided to flee.

The former White House Press Secretary was in Fort Lauderdale as a stopover of sorts before heading to Tampa for Monday night’

s college football National Championship game.

Fleischer’s tweeted from the scene at 12:57 p.m. ET — which was among the first public alerts to the shooting.