((PKG)) VEGAS SHOOTING, ONE YEAR LATER
((Banner: Aftermath of a Shooting))
((Reporter: Carolyn Presutti))
((Camera/Producer: Miguel Amaya))
((Map: Las Vegas, Nevada))
((NATS))
((Lacey West, Mass Shooting Survivor))
My name is Lacey West. I’m 28 years old.
((Elizabeth West, Mass Shooting Survivor))
My name’s Elizabeth West. Lacey is my daughter. She’s my youngest.
((NATS))
((Elizabeth West, Mass Shooting Survivor))
We were both at the Las Vegas massacre last year on October 1st of 2017.
((NATS))
((Lacey West, Mass Shooting Survivor))
It was really crazy. I didn’t think it was bullets at first. I didn’t think there was any kind of danger.
((NATS))
((Elizabeth West, Mass Shooting Survivor))
I told her “get down, get down,” and after about the third round of the automatic firing went off, there was probably the longest break after the third round. And that’s when we started trying to crawl out from underneath the bars to get out.
((NATS))
((Lacey West, Mass Shooting Survivor))
After that, seeing just everyone just fleeing out of there, running like hats everywhere, boots everywhere. The ground is completely sopping wet with drinks that everyone abandoned. The rails were all knocked over just to get through, get away.
((Elizabeth West, Mass Shooting Survivor))
And Lacey grabbed my arm and later had told me her thought process was, “I got to get mom out. I can’t let her fall.” And as I was behind her running, and I could hear the bullets going, my whole thought process is, “if I’m behind her, they’ll hit me and not her.” And so, you know, it’s like the bullets go off and your whole body tenses up, so there’s things that you hear even to this day. And again, that brings that back, but she thought she was protecting me and I thought I was protecting her. So that’s why we decided to get the tattoos on our arm, because it was where we locked and we held on and protected each other.
((Lacey West, Mass Shooting Survivor))
At first it was uneasy when I came back because, seeing the Mandalay Bay again for the first time, it was just really putting into perspective what I couldn’t see in the darkness from that night. Seeing it in the daylight and just like I didn’t know that I wanted to come back here after that.
((NATS))
((Elizabeth West, Mass Shooting Survivor))
We’re so excited for her to be getting married. We’ve always loved coming to Vegas, so it’s going to take a little bit of the sting away and let us come back here and still have happy memories.
((Lacey West, Mass Shooting Survivor))
I think having my anniversary will be the memory every year leading into October 1st. It will just be the reminder of how my life changed so much from that event that it led me to my happiness.
((NATS))
Makes me very proud to pronounce you husband and wife. You two may seal your promises with a kiss.
((NATS))
All right you two, take them. One more time.
