By Charles Lefebvre

‘You hear the people screaming:’ Medicine Hat woman caught in Vegas mass shooting

Oct 3, 2017 | 3:41 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — A Medicine Hat woman says she and her family are thankful to be alive following the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

Vicki and Don Boone, along with her brother and sister in-law, were on the ground at the festival Sunday night. Speaking over the phone from Edmonton, Vicki recalls the moment when things began to go wrong during Jason Aldean’s headlining set.

“We remember him being three or four songs in, and we were standing in front of the stage, but more to the left from Mandalay Bay, and I heard ‘pop-pop-pop’,” she said.

“I was looking around for a firecracker and watching the crowd, and then we heard ‘pop-pop-pop.’ And then we saw the crowd start to split to the right of us and a woman yelled ‘Gun!’”

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Vicki says her husband grabbed her arm and they followed their in-laws as the ran for cover, hiding underneath a merchandise stand and a beer cart. While hiding, they heard more gunshots ringing out from the hotel, before stopping. She says she could hear bullets flying over their head while they were taking cover.

“The second time it stopped, my husband said, ‘Next time we hear that break, we’re running behind the buildings to that fence, and we’re going to get out of here,’” she said.

Vicki recalls the group of them running to the fence, escaping the venue. The group ended up at the Tropicana Hotel and they were let in, but as a security measure, they had to walk single file with their hands over their heads.

“We passed casualties laying on the floor,” she said. “Then we had a group of people running towards us from a different hallway, like there was another shooter.”

Authorities say the gunman, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, is believed to have acted alone when he killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500 people from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. Paddock died from suicide before he could be arrested.

Vicki and Don and their family eventually found safety at their in-law’s room at the MGM Grand, right before the city went on lockdown.

She says it’s still hard to describe what happened during the shooting, and is still traumatized.

“You close your eyes, and you just hear it,” she said through tears. “You hear the people screaming.”

She added, “Where we were standing, we were in direct line of those windows. If we did not react as quick as we did, we would not be here today.”

Vicki says the event has made her reconsider going to any outdoor venue. She has offered her thoughts and prayers to those affected by the shooting