Exeter Campus Devastated by Vegas Shooting
Sunday night at 10:07 a.m., Stephen Paddock fired hundreds of rounds from the thirty second floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino into a crowd of concertgoers at Las Vegas’ Route 91 Harvest country music festival. While the exact number remains uncertain, most news sources are confirming that 59 people were killed and more than 500 injured. An investigation into the massacre is ongoing. Exonians, many of whom call Las Vegas home, have been shocked and devastated by the news.
Pictures and videos of the horrific incident flooded newspapers and websites early Monday morning. As worried family members and friends attempted to contact loved ones attending the festival, the Las Vegas Police Force opened up a hotline to try to connect them and provided live updates on Twitter about the event.
Senior Oren Stern, a resident of Las Vegas, felt incredibly grateful that although many of his friends were at the festival, they made it out unscathed. “Any mass shooting is a horrific event, but there is a real fear to an event that happens to people you know and care about,” Stern said. “I spent the entire day with a pit in my stomach. It was a tough day with constant checking for news updates.” Due to the three-hour time difference between Exeter and Las Vegas, Stern’s family was not awake when he tried to reach them after hearing about the shooting. “When I found out, I immediately texted and called my parents to make sure they were safe,” he said. “My parents were asleep when I tried to contact them, and I spent the ensuing morning very worried for them. I did get the call back and was relieved to hear their voices, but the uncertainty had taken its toll.”
Las Vegas resident and upper Miranda DeRossi shared a similar experience. Luckily, her parents were not at the concert, and no one she knew was injured. However, she was still shaken after learning about of the incident. “I was, and still am, extremely upset and disturbed by this,” she said. “It put me into a panic that morning—I immediately started texting my friends and family in Vegas to make sure everyone was alright, and I had trouble focusing on anything else.” DeRossi’s mother, a teacher, reported to her daughter that the city of Las Vegas remained “eerily quiet” in a mournful, vigil-like state the day after the shooting. “She mentioned to me that the event was all the parents of the children she teaches could talk about,” DeRossi added.
Upper Adrian Venzon, another resident of Las Vegas, was thankful for not personally knowing any victims of the attack. “I don’t know anyone back home who was in attendance; however, my parents know people who had attended and left just minutes before the shooting occurred,” he said. “As far as I know, no one that my family or I am personally close to was physically affected. However, I live in an area that is just outside of the Strip, and I can imagine the fear that people near my neighborhood must be feeling right now.”
Las Vegas native and upper Kiana Silver’s older brother was at the concert with his girlfriend that night. “We didn’t hear from them until about the middle of the day after the incident,” Silver explained. “I woke up on October 2 to a text from my mom telling me to check the news.” Luckily, Silver’s mother was in New Orleans for work at the time. As her brother and his girlfriend lost their phones during the panicked stampede away from the festival, Silver and the rest of her family didn’t hear from either of them until around 3 pm. Her brother’s girlfriend was admitted to the hospital after fracturing her arm during the rush to get to safety. “I couldn’t focus on anything else throughout the day until we heard from my brother and learned that he is safe, though shaken,” Silver said.
Silver’s cousin’s fiancé was also at the Route 91 Harvest Festival and sustained injuries due to the shooting. “She is in the hospital with two gunshot wounds currently,” Silver said. “She went through surgery, is in intensive care and is now stable, surrounded by family, who managed to raise $16,547 so far to pay for medical expenses on GoFundMe thanks to the efforts of the Las Vegas community.”
Another GoFundMe page was started by Steve Sisolak, Clark County Commission Chair from Las Vegas, to “provide relief and financial support to the victims and families” has raised over $3,400,000 in less than a day. Reports from The New York Times detail mile-long lines of volunteers eager to donate blood in order to help those still holding onto their lives in hospitals throughout Las Vegas. Locals have been vigilant at local refuge centers, offering free rides, water, food and other basic needs to survivors.
Silver was grateful for the support she received from classmates, peers, teachers and friends at Exeter. She also commended the ability for her community back home to come together in a time of strife. “The entire Las Vegas community is horrified and confused, but our ties to each other have made the situation a little easier to bear,” Silver said. “The immense number of people from home who reached out to me during the day made me realize just how strong our community is, and how everyone comes together in times of need.”