A Prince George Citizen reporter was among those in the neighbourhood of where Sunday night’s shooting occurred in Las Vegas.
Sports editor Jason Peters was with friends and staying at the Paris Hotel when the situation unfolded, just two miles down the strip from the Mandalay Bay Resort.
After spending 75 minutes in the casino, he says everyone was told to evacuate immediately.
“There was yelling and screaming, and people were being told to get out. Everybody was running in a panic not really knowing what was going on and we ended up out the back of the hotel. There was emergency vehicles and sirens down the strip with helicopters in the sky too. We were just in shock; couldn’t actually believe what was going on.”
While evacuating down a tunnel, he adds more panic was created.
“Somebody behind us actually sort of yelled that there was somebody behind us, and at that point in time, everybody was getting pretty nervous. I got to admit, my heart was beating pretty quickly at that point when we thought there might actually be somebody behind us.”
UPDATED: @jjhorgan issues statement after 23yo BC man was killed in #LasVegasShooting | https://t.co/5uHv4UJoJu #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/YjXjFr3KkS
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) October 2, 2017
Peters says they remained in their place for several hours, but he was soon able to make contact with family and friends in Prince George.
“We got back to the room at about 2:30AM after showing our passes to actually get in because everything was all secure of course; you had to go through these security checkpoints to get back in. There was definitely a lot of concerned people out there.”
Though he was never actually caught in any crossfire from the shooting that killed nearly 60 people at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, he says it was a surreal feeling of being in the unknown.
“It was just so unbelievable. You honestly couldn’t believe that something like that could happen in a place like this when everybody’s here for a good time and here to enjoy themselves. And then, you have a situation like that where there’s a lunatic that obviously has other ideas.”
#FBI Victim Services Division is seeking victims of the Harvest Music Festival shooting. Please see link below:https://t.co/PcNYMzN4Zk pic.twitter.com/SId53BqO0D
— FBI Las Vegas (@FBILasVegas) October 3, 2017
While it put a damper on the trip, Peters adds he’s grateful and thankful for to be alive and well.
He is scheduled to return home later this afternoon.
For more information on the Las Vegas shooting, you can click here.
PRESS RELEASE: LVMPD Police Still Working to Find Motive in Shooting https://t.co/T2mXxlvBDm #LVMPDnews pic.twitter.com/ylYLb125rL
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) October 3, 2017
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