Vegas Shooting

Discussion in 'Free Zone' started by DBMX119, Oct 3, 2017.


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  1. DBMX119

    DBMX119 Member

    Location:
    Huntington Beach
    Name:
    Rick McKee
    As mentioned in another post, my friends and family were all in Vegas this weekend for RT91 this weekend.

    We've been to every Rt91 and it's one of our favorite weekends of the year. Its still warm in Vegas, but not hot. You can hit the pool all day and walk across the street to an awesome venue with top performers every night. It also happens to fall on our anniversary weekend, so its a win win!

    This year we had several more friends from various groups than usual, and it seemed like they all FINALLY listened to us and decided to check it out. The first two nights were awesome! The weather was perfect and it seemed like we kept running into other people we knew in the crowd. Even ran into some friends I hadn't seen in years.

    Then came Sunday. a few songs into Aldeans set some noises started popping. Aldean played for a bit and we thought it was fireworks or a sound issue. But then came more and the sound shut off and Aldean ran from stage. We were still trying to figure out what was going on. Below is what I posted on FB last night. My sister was at the show, but not with us.... Thankfully, she had too much to drink at the pool and fell asleep in the room when she went up to get ready. She was running from the Mandalay to the show (pissed she over slept) when the shooting started. I just want to say that we are SO LUCKY not only to be alive and uninjured, but also that all our friends were able make it out. We always stand in the same general spot, right side of stage right up front between sound board and the stage. This was the prime area of his shooting. There's countless other stories of why other friends weren't there (some were in VIP, some were in bathroom, others were just to beat from the other nights and "pool fun' and were hanging in the stands in the back).

    From FB:
    Karen and I would like to take a minute to thank everyone for all the calls, texts, and posts we received today. By 7:30 this morning we received an outpouring of support and texts from concerned friends who were ready to help us in anyway necessary.

    I’m still at a loss for words on how an amazing weekend with great friends and a fun crowd of music fans can turn deadly so quickly. The first two pix were about 10 minutes before the others. What happened next can only be described as a few hours of terror.

    We honestly thought it was fireworks going off at first. There was a burst of noise and then it stopped. It wasn’t until he opened fire the second time that people around us got hit and we realized there was a shooter.

    Patti was immediately shuffled out with some people that were by her. Between rounds of fire Anna, Karen, and I slowly worked our way over two barricades, across the lawn, stopping and gathering together on the ground each time another clip of ammo was fired. Eventually we made it through a fence and into a parking lot where we hid behind a van with another group of people.

    Then the shots seemed to get louder and a few of us had flashbacks to the Baticlan Theater in Paris and assumed someone was walking through the crowd. We now know this was not true, but he was firing at all the various crowds from his room.

    A large group of us ran across a dirt lot and over to a private hangar where someone broke a window and we hid in darkness until the police showed up and took us to a secure location.

    We were able to keep in touch with Patti the entire time through texts and calls, which was a relief.

    As of now all of Karen and my fiends are safe. Unfortunately there are friends of friends who were not so lucky.

    All that can be said is that everyone in the crowd acted so selflessly and helped each other out the entire time. Its amazing seeing so many strangers helping strangers. That’s at least one positive that can be taken from this horrible tragedy.

    #prayforvegas

    thumb_IMG_9520_1024.jpg thumb_IMG_9539_1024.jpg thumb_IMG_9550_1024.jpg thumb_IMG_9556_1024.jpg
     
    ricke24, Bryon, MattB and 29 others like this.
  2. DBMX119

    DBMX119 Member

    Location:
    Huntington Beach
    Name:
    Rick McKee
    MattB, PATKOUG, Voodoo Tom and 15 others like this.
  3. pperrelle

    pperrelle iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Oracle, AZ
    Name:
    Paul
    Current Bike:
    Ripley V4 & Ripmo V2
    What a horrible experience to go through. Glad you and your family came out safely.
     
    PATKOUG, Voodoo Tom, Mikie and 7 others like this.
  4. LLPoolJ

    LLPoolJ iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Moreno Valley
    Name:
    James Johnson
    Current Bike:
    Specy Epic, Stumpu and Enduro
    I feel for you and everyone there. Do not let this stop you from enjoying life. Appreciate it more than ever!
     
    PATKOUG, Voodoo Tom, Mikie and 11 others like this.
  5. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    Wow!!!!!!!

    I can't even imagine how scary or how terrifying that experience could have been. To not know what was going on....to not know where it was comin from.

    Sorry to hear that you had to experience it.

    Glad to hear that you and your friends made it through safe.
     
    PATKOUG, Voodoo Tom, Mikie and 10 others like this.
  6. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    My wife's boss and other friends of ours were there as well. Luckily, they all came out of it OK.

    Prayers and thoughts go out to the families and friends of those whose lives are forever changed.
     
    PATKOUG, Voodoo Tom, Mikie and 8 others like this.
  7. konakc

    konakc iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    kc
    Glad your you and your family are safe. Just tuff stuff...
    May God bless and protect you...
     
    PATKOUG, Voodoo Tom, Mikie and 6 others like this.
  8. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    Glad you and yours are safe.
     
    PATKOUG, Voodoo Tom, Mikie and 7 others like this.
  9. HBkites

    HBkites Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Huntington Beach
    Name:
    Sharone
    Current Bike:
    Why S7, Revel Rascal, Spark RC
    Wow!
    I'm glad you are Okay.

    There must be a logical way to stop this from happening too often.
     
    PATKOUG, Voodoo Tom, Mikie and 9 others like this.
  10. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
    Thanks for posting @DBMX119 The most meaningful post on this site.
     
    ricke24, PATKOUG, Voodoo Tom and 9 others like this.
  11. Sasquatch9billion

    Sasquatch9billion iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    trinidad j. mendez
    Glad you made it out okay. This is the second tragedy that I've heard of today where people were looking out for one another ( first one was a series of interviews about the MX city quake.) It does give you hope for humanity to hear that in the face of destruction and terror people choose to come together and help each other.
     
  12. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    I can't fathom it, and have no words... I'm just thankful that you are here today.
     
  13. LLPoolJ

    LLPoolJ iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Moreno Valley
    Name:
    James Johnson
    Current Bike:
    Specy Epic, Stumpu and Enduro
    People will come together for the most part during times of distress. Proven time and again all over the world.Be confident in that.
     
  14. jaime

    jaime Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Corona, ca
    Name:
    jaime
    Current Bike:
    '20 YT Jeffsy carbon 27'5
    Glad to hear you and your family are good brother :thumbsup: and prayers out to all of those who were injured or lost their lives.
    :unsure:
     
  15. scan

    scan iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    fran allas
    Current Bike:
    Scott Spark
    Good to hear. Helps us to keep life in perspective, reminding us of the most important things!
     
  16. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    I am glad you and those close to you are safe.

    I have no words to express what I feel for this evil fucktard coward. Some people fail at life... and take it out on others.

    I have to admit, I had a serious military flashback moment when I saw your video and I had to turn it off. Now that I have watched it all the way through, why wasn't anyone moving? Did security tell people to get down and not to move? You can clearly hear bullets impacting the area... why didn't anyone get the F@ck out? I know hindsight is 20/20 but when I hear bullets and an automatic weapon - I am gone.
     
    UPSed, PATKOUG, Cornholio and 8 others like this.
  17. MrGreedom

    MrGreedom Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Name:
    Ryan
    Current Bike:
    BH Lynx6
    Unreal so glad you all made it out safely
     
  18. Grego

    Grego iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Fullerton
    Name:
    joe
    Current Bike:
    WFO9
    That's some scary sh!t. The video where people are leaving but some aren't is so sad. Good to hear you made it out safely.
     
  19. MrGreedom

    MrGreedom Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Name:
    Ryan
    Current Bike:
    BH Lynx6
    Holy Sh!t, I just watched your video closer. Total loss for words for what happened right next to you. God bless that girl who immediately reacts and does CPR, hope it was enough.
     
  20. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    I got no words right now... I’m just so thankful you and your loved ones are okay.
     
  21. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    I cannot imagine the terror and horror you and your loved ones witnessed. Do not be reluctant to get some help if the images begin to have an impact on your day to day. I am so thankful that you and your loved ones emerged physically unhurt.
     
    PATKOUG, LLPoolJ, Cornholio and 3 others like this.
  22. DBMX119

    DBMX119 Member

    Location:
    Huntington Beach
    Name:
    Rick McKee
    So I started responding and this just kind of poured out. Its more detailed than above, but will help give a more complete picture. Keep in mind too, my video is time stamped a few minutes before 911 was even notified. That's how early it was. No one expected anything like this was possible, so they took the best outlook. The shooting lasted for about 12 minutes from what CNN is reporting.
    Sorry for the long post. If its too long: TLDR: You wouldn't have run! Instincts take over!!

    I doubt you would have run. Very few did. I am amazed at instincts that take over. I'm not military trained but just wanted to help people. When I realized it was bullets I just threw myself on my wife and our friend. So many people were doing the same thing without even thinking. At one point the two of them had to tackle me because I wanted to go back in for my friends wife. I think the only thing that prevented that was when they got louder and we thought there was multiple shooters and they were coming towards us...... I refocussed on getting them to safety Our friend was able to get ahold of her and found out she got out and was fine.

    It honestly sounded like fireworks. The first rounds were at the stage so it sounded like a sound issue (even people from the stage are saying that in interviews). Then the second set of rounds started and people cleared out of one area just over from us. It seemed like a mosh pit clearing so we all thought someone lit off a brick of fire crackers. Thats when Jason ran off the stage. I happened to have my phone ready to record the second verse for a buddy who was not there (planning on teasing him for missing the show), so I lifted it up and hit record because I hoped to catch who lit the fire works.

    As that happened the lights came on and people instinctively huddled down as others did next to them. It wasn't all at once, but like a wave that came across the venue. We now know that clearing was when the first people were hit. That is the end of the shooting at the start of the video. You can even look in the video at people still standing up... I was one of them!!!!

    Then the third set of fire started and it was all around us as the video was recording. I started hearing (still not realizing it) bullets hit all around us. My wife can be heard saying "don't panic" because others were yelling it was just fireworks.... Then I look behind me and theres a guy that was hit and bleeding and you can hear me say 'THERE'S BLOOD. THERE'S BLOOD ITS A SHOOTER". At this point she looks in front and theres a girl on the ground in front of us.

    We were all in so tight, but there was no where to go, so I laid on my wife and our friend while another set of rounds were fired. At some point (still not sure how long or how many rounds) we were able to work over to the barricade as more people climbed over. This was a double barricade in the middle of the venue that provides a walk way for sound guys and for performers to come out into the crowd. This is the barricade that is all over the news with people climbing over or laying against. We all climbed over both during a break and kept helping others over too. When the firing started we got down against the barricade and heard bullets hit it and all around it. On the next break the 3 of us ran single file to stay narrow. Then it started again and we dropped in the middle of the grass and huddled together again.

    Eventually we made it out of the venue through a fence a bunch of people were just knocking down. We made our way into a dirt lot (through another fence) and hid by the van with probably another 6 people. The next set of shots got loud and we all assumed the shooters were on the ground and coming down the street we just crossed (from behind the stage). We know this isn't true now, but they just seemed so much louder and didn't want to take any chances after assuming it was fireworks.

    At that point the group of us all ran across the lot all the way to the airport. We couldn't get over the razor wire but found an alley surrounded by concrete to hide in. I left my wife and friend to go back to see if I could get our other friends wife (we were in contact on the phone). Coming around the building I was met with eve more people running I directed to the alley. We were a long ways from the venue, but the gunfire erupted again (final time) and a few of us hid behind some palm trees and yelled for people to come towards us.

    Following that round I heard a window shatter were someone broke into a hangar. I ran back and got everyone from the alley so we could get in the hanger and hide. Once inside we started calling friends there to check in, then call family to tell them not to worry.
     
    MattB, UPSed, PATKOUG and 12 others like this.
  23. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    Not knowing what was going on at first, then realizing it was a shooter, yet not knowing where it was coming from sounds like it would make it difficult to run away.
     
    PATKOUG, Cornholio and Voodoo Tom like this.
  24. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    You are one cool customer. I would have Sh!t myself...
     
  25. Voodoo Tom

    Voodoo Tom MTB Addict

    Location:
    Castaic
    Name:
    Tom Kokkinakis
    Current Bike:
    Mango one, black one, Ti one
    Wow, so very glad you & your loved ones and friends made it out. Amazing that you were able to keep your wits about you and let instinct take over and by the sounds of it you probably saved several others in the process. Thanks for sharing
     
  26. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    By commenting I want to make sure none of my comments come off as sounding judgemental because I was not there so who knows what I would have done - particularly if my wife was there with me.

    I was a paratrooper in the Army. I know what weapon fire sounds like and can tell the difference between different weapons just by the sound they make. This to me (from the beginning of your video) never sounded remotely like fireworks - because I know what I'm hearing due to experience. From 400 yards you won't hear the rifle until after you hear the bullet. The bullet will zip by, or slap into something (hopefully not a person), and then you will hear the crack of the rifle shot. You learn what automatic fire is because you hear the zip zip zip before you ever hear a gun shot. You can definitely hear this at the beginning of the second round of firing in your video - when rounds landed very close to you. At full auto, or with a bump stock like this shooter had, you'd be lucky to hit the side of a barn at 400 yards. He was spraying the field and if you got hit it was just bad luck. The second people in that field started taking fire they needed to get out of that field. The large number of wounded are probably due to the fact that he hit two or three people with single rounds because people were bunched up. If I were event security the first thing I would have done was kill the lights.

    I played your video for my wife and specifically pointed out what she was hearing so if (heaven forbid) she finds herself in a similar situation she knows what is going on. Just a completely tragic experience that cannot be explained or justified. I don't doubt you haven't slept. There is nothing you could have done. I am so sorry you had to experience this.
     
    kioti, MattB, PATKOUG and 5 others like this.
  27. Cornholio

    Cornholio iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    B
    Current Bike:
    Huffy
    Thank goodness I don’t have Facebook to see the video because the details above are enough. Such a terrible tragedy in so many ways and words cannot describe how senseless it was.

    With a toddler and a baby arriving in a few weeks I am worried about their future in this world. So frustrating
     
    kioti, PATKOUG, DangerDirtyD and 7 others like this.
  28. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    @DBMX119, your and others' exemplary behavior in this situation is an inspiration. Thank you for reporting here. Best wishes to you and yours.
     
    kioti, PATKOUG, herzalot and 4 others like this.
  29. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    My wife and daughter think it's funny that I won't sit with my back towards a door in a restaurant... I just can't.
     
    DBMX119 likes this.
  30. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    Now there is a conspiracy theory going around that this was in fact a FBI sting operation with terrorists gone wrong (or something to that effect).
     
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