Brisbane Woman Describes Las Vegas Carnage

'I saw someone die 5m in front of me'


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A Brisbane woman has recounted the 'absolute mayhem' in the immediate aftermath of this week's Las Vegas mass shooting, describing it was 'the worst nightmare you could ever think of'. 

Aimee-Rose Carter had been enjoying the Route 91 Harvest music festival with her friend, Courtney Cooper, when gunman Stephen Paddock began his fatal rampage from the window of his high rise hotel room. 

Separated from Courtney, who was away getting a drink at the time, Aimee-Rose told Triple M's Marto, Ed and Robin about the moment the shooting began. 

"I heard the shots go off but we didn't know they were shots. Everyone was just confused but when a couple of people pushed past me, I was like 'what's going on?'," she said.

"Then the shots started again and people started screaming and running and I was still standing there thinking 'no, surely not? this can't be happening?'"

"There was a guy not even five metres in front of me, lying on the ground with blood all over his chest. He'd been shot. It hit home, and I just turned and ran, I dived on the ground with some other people to try and take cover."

"The worst thing was we didn't know where the shots were coming from.. for all we knew, it was coming from inside the concert ground. It was echoing everywhere so it just sounded like the shots were following you. You didn't know where to run.." 

Aimee-Rose said it was a case of 'survival mode' kicking in. 

"I just ran for my life. I had to jump a fence, I ended up in an undercover carpark when people started screaming and running again.. cos people didn't know what was happening. The shots just sounded like they were following you, they were so close. I dived and hid under a car, and hid there for a while." 

It was at this point that Aimee-Rose knew she had to get to the safety of a building. 

"I eventually made my way into the Hooters casino and we were all on lockdown. I was trying to call friends and family to let them know I was okay and I was trying to get hold of Courtney but she didn't have reception for a good hour. That was probably the worst time." 

"People had abandoned everything.. bags, drinks. There was broken glass everywhere while people were just running for cover. There was blood everywhere, there was people shot and getting triaged just inside the casino. One guy was getting comforted because his wife had been shot and killed right in front of him.

"It was absolute mayhem. It was the worst nightmare you could ever think of." 

For Aimee-Rose and Courtney, the recovery isn't going to be easy. 

"She actually saw someone's knee get shot out right next to her and I saw someone die not even five metres in front of me. Adrenaline just took over and we kind of fell apart later."

Miraculously, of the 59 people killed and more than 520 injured, authorities say no one has been identified as Australians. 

Listen to Aimee-Rose's emotional account of America's worst mass shooting in history HERE: 

*WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT*

Claire Sherwood

4 October 2017

Article by:

Claire Sherwood




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