Dallas Morning News photographer Tom Fox went to work to cover a trial Monday morning and left having taken the most dramatic photo of the day. Fox was at the Earle Cabell Federal Building when a 22-year-old man, later identified as Brian Isaack Clyde, opened fire and was subsequently killed by police officers.

Fox says he saw the man approach the federal building and fire off several rounds with what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle, prompting him to crouch down and capture the moment on camera, NBC5 reported.

“I’m just thankful to be alive,” Fox told the local TV outlet. “Literally I was just around the marble podium, or marble wall, from where he shot out the windows and I was just praying that he wasn't going to pass me, pass that wall because if he saw me crouch there he probably would have shot me.”

Intense video shot by an onlooker from above shows just how close Fox came to the shooter, with the photojournalist hiding mere feet away from where the gunman was firing his weapon before retreating into a parking lot.