VEGAS SHOOTING recounted through HOLTVILLE eyes
HOLTVILLE — A Brawley woman reportedly sustained a gunshot wound to her calf Sunday night during the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas that left hundreds injured and dozens dead, including the gunman.
The local shooting victim, whose name is being withheld by the IV Press, announced on her Facebook page that she is recovering from the wound. She did not respond to requests by the Press for an interview.
The Brawley woman was among several Valley residents who reportedly had attended the three-day country music festival that ended in gunfire during headliner Jason Aldean’s performance.
Holtville residents Sara Hilfiker and Mindy and Chris Toth had been a few rows back of the main stage when the first volley of gunfire erupted shortly after 10 p.m. near the Mandalay Bay casino.
Like many others present, the trio had initially mistaken the rapid gunfire for firecrackers, Hilfiker said.
It was until they had seen a security guard whisk Aldean away backstage after a second barrage of gunfire rang out that Hilfiker said she realized something was amiss. Soon after, security guards advised those present of the gunfire and to duck and seek cover.
“We could hear ricochets and bullets hitting the metal fence,” Hilfiker said. “Nobody really wanted to move, they were frozen.”
Despite Mindy Toth’s pleas to remain in place, Hilfiker said she forcefully grabbed her by the hand and began to retreat from the stage area and its surrounding fencing.
“We just started to make a run for it in the direction everybody else was going,” Hilfiker said. “It was like a fullblown stampede of people.”
Hilfiker, Toth and her husband Chris would soon all become separated, further adding to each other’s anxiety as the harrowing night transpired.
Yet, amid the chaos that ensued, considered the deadliest mass shooting in recent American history, Hilfiker said she also witnessed a remarkable thing unfolding.
As concertgoers scrambled in search of shelter, Hilfiker said she had also observed countless instances where people came to the aid of others in need.
“It’s moments like these when people stick together and are really kind to one another,” Hilfiker said. “As sad as everyone was, we found a sense of positivity to keep going.”
That collective unity was also made evident Monday when hundreds of individuals lined up to donate blood for the 527 shooting victims being treated at area hospitals. The high volume of donors resulted in blood donation centers being fully booked for the next few days.
A GoFundMe account set up in the wake of the shooting by the chairman of the Clark County, Nevada, Board of Supervisors had also reportedly raised more than $2 million by Monday night.
Mindy Toth said that after she had become separated from her husband and Hilfiker, she joined up with a group of concertgoers that eventually found shelter at the nearby Hooters Casino, about a block northeast of the concert venue.
The scene she encountered there was equally chaotic and distressing.
“The whole casino floor had people laying all over,” Toth said. “I never would’ve pictured something like that.”
Thankfully, hotel staff had provided beverages for those seeking shelter, as well as bed sheets to lie on the floor and bath towels to act as blankets, Toth said.
As some of the injured were transported from the hotel lobby to area hospitals, Toth said those that remained behind shared their grief and experiences.
“It was pretty bloody,” Toth said. “Everybody had something they saw different from what you saw.”
Toth was also eventually able to make phone contact with her husband and Hilfiker, who both advised her that they too had found shelter. Hours would pass before the trio would reunite in their room at the Excalibur Hotel.
“We all just cried,” Toth said. “We were just happy to know we were all alive.”
The heartrending experience isn’t likely to permanently prevent Toth from attending such large-scale outdoor music festivals in the future, although she said Sunday’s tragedy gave her second thoughts about inviting her children along.
Likewise, Hilfiker said she may take a temporary break from such outings, but has no intentions of permanently avoiding such typically enjoyable events.
Trying to explain the situation to her seven sons also proved challenging, on Monday, upon returning to the Valley. The family has a history of enjoying the local duck hunting season together, and has always promoted responsible gun ownership and storage.
“They know that guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” Hilfiker said.
All told, 59 people died as a result of Sunday’s mass shooting. Authorities identified Stephen Paddock, of Mesquite, Nev. as the assailant.
Paddock reportedly had at least 17 firearms and a large stockpile of ammunition in his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, including some rifles equipped with scopes.
Authorities had also seized more than 18 firearms, explosives and several thousand rounds of ammunition from his Mesquite residence, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reported.
Paddock was found dead of an apparent suicide inside his hotel room on Sunday night. Authorities are currently seeking to identify a motive for the shooting.