On Sunday, October 1st, as Jason Aldean performed his hit song “When She Says Baby,” gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on the unassuming crowd. From his perch on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, he was able to use his assault rifles to single handedly cause the greatest mass shooting in modern American history. At this time, 58 are reported dead and 527 others are injured. Since this tragedy, America and the world have felt the pain of this senseless violence.
As an avid country music fan, I was crushed when I found out the shooting ripped through the crowd of a country music festival. Rather than dwell on the country music community, terror ripped through my chest. My lifelong best friend lives in Vegas. Not only is she a Vegas resident, she works on the Las Vegas Strip. As I urgently texted her at 8:30 EST, 5:30 AM her time, before even fully reading the news, my body was riddled with anxiety. I was lucky, my best friend was safe. The relief I felt when I received that text message was something I have never experience in my life. Others were not so lucky. Other never got a text back.
I took the time to talk with my best friend, Maddy Gassmann, a student at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, about her thoughts and experiences on the shooting as a Las Vegas resident.
A: How long have you lived in Las Vegas?
M: Three years.
A: Where were you when the shooting occurred?
M: I was driving home from work. On my way home, I had to reroute several times as they were starting to block off the strip. I passed at least 12 or 13 emergency vehicles heading towards the strip, and I texted my friends asking them if anyone knew what was going on.
A: Were you familiar with the venue and Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino prior to this event?
M: I was familiar with Mandalay Bay and I knew the Route 91 festival was in Vegas, but not the details of where it was being held.
A: What was going through your mind as the details of the incident were exposed?
M: The first I heard there was a shooter at Mandalay Bay, I didn’t realize the music festival was there. At first, I was pretty unconcerned. I figured it was one guy with a handgun and he would get taken down easily. It’s Vegas, the strip gets blocked off all the time for huge car accidents or people threatening to jump off buildings. I have been evacuated from the UNLV library on several occasions when someone was stabbed near campus.
As I got more information that 20 people had been pronounced dead, I realized the severity. People were texting me left and right asking me if I was off the strip and safe. My sorority’s group chat was blowing up as we accounted for anyone who was at the festival. For half an hour we waited for confirmation that one of my very close friends, who had been attending the event, had gotten out alive. During the first hours we were getting information, there were rumors of more than just a shooter. I was hearing that there were multiple shooters and bombs in the Tropicana Hotel Casino and the Luxor.
The next morning, you heard about people running to one location and being told it wasn’t safe, and then running to the next location and the next. You heard horror stories of people returning home covered in blood as the person right in front of them was shot in the head.
A: What has Vegas been like since the incident? Have you noticed any changes from the norm?
M: Just on campus, it’s very quiet. Even working at a resort, I haven’t noticed any big changes. UNLV hosted a largely attended vigil the night after the incident. The huge attendance was unexpected, and beautiful. I know a few students were injured, and I have heard two were killed. There is a lot of backlash towards UNLV for not cancelling classes Monday, but everyone I have spoken to who experienced this tragedy first hand was thankful to get back to the sense of normalcy.
I would have never called Vegas a close knit community until a few days ago. This incident has made us closer than ever. I attended a donation drive last night and worked with total strangers to fill a semi-truck with blood drive supplies. I see the flashing screens on the strip all showing the same message now: Vegas Strong. It is quiet here, but there is a silent strength that I didn’t know we had.
A: As someone who was in Connecticut during the Sandy Hook Shooting of 2012, how does this event parallel what you experienced after Sandy Hook?
M: Even being from Connecticut, Sandy Hook was pretty far off. I didn’t know anyone who was connected to the incident at all. But both are completely senseless acts of violence. Whether it is 26 elementary school children or 58 concert goers, there was no reason for them to die. I’m frustrated with how I see more on social media bashing UNLV or trying to further a political agenda, than about helping the community and offering condolences. There is a lot of coverage, in both instances, about the shooter, and not so much about the victim. I would rather know about the people who didn’t make it, than the person who made it happen. I also think there is a lot more rage about this massacre. Sandy Hook was shocking and very unsettling, because who would kill innocent children? The incident at Mandalay Bay was horrific in a way that felt like the last straw.
A: In your opinion, what can we do to help the Las Vegas community at this time?
M: One of the scariest things about this tragedy, was knowing that we were already in a huge blood shortage. I’m sure I’m not the only one who ignored a call or two from organizations trying to get more blood donations before the tragedy. Now lines are wrapped around buildings as people wait five hours to do something they should have already been doing. So, donate blood. Not just for Las Vegas, but for your own city. You never know when a senseless tragedy could happen, and you can never be prepared enough.
Don’t let this stop you from visiting Las Vegas. Sin city is built on tourism and you are only hurting us more by taking away our primary source of income.
Remember the victims and don’t forget about this. It is terrible enough have a life end. It is even worse for that life to be converted into a statistic.
As more information becomes public, we need to hold Maddy’s words in our hearts- these victims are not just statistics. This tragedy is not just something to analyze, or to use as a tool in your own agenda. This tragedy is just that, a tragedy. We now, more than ever, need to stand united against violence. We need to hold those we love a little closer. We need to be thankful for friends of 15 years. We need to stop saying maybe, and start saying when. We need to book the ticket for a winter trip to Las Vegas, because spending time with loved ones should always come first.
Stay strong Las Vegas.