Melissa and Brandon Vanderloo returned home to Canada Monday night, nearly a day after surviving the mass shooting in Las Vegas.
The Lindsay, Ont. couple had gone to the strip to celebrate Brandon’s 30th birthday, but they ended up in the middle of gunfire.
“We were standing there watching Jason Aldeen and Melissa says ‘I think those are gunshots,’” he recounted at Pearson International Airport, his heart still pounding.
They ran for their lives, desperately searching for safety.
“It didn't sound like gunshots. The volley comes through and another one comes through and you see the screen. One of the screens change; got hit. Jason ran off stage and then everyone started yelling.”
They didn't know where the bullets were coming from. Every time there was break in shots, they moved.
“I really thought that someone was on the strip just shooting at the festival. I was like well, ‘this guy is going to be gone soon, because there is tons of police around,’” he says.
But the shots were coming from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. From there, Stephen Paddock killed 59 people, including four Canadians. Police say more than 500 people were injured.
The Vanderloos found cover in a set of bleachers, huddled together with strangers.
“You didn't know what was going to happen. We were laying there with people, holding each other's hands under the bleachers. Don't know if we are going to live or not,” says Melissa.
Then they ducked into a restaurant, before making a 2.5 kilometer run for their hotel.
“I was like, ‘is this real? Is this actually happening’ and then of course I was thinking about my kids and just trying to get out there alive,” she says.
“Our kids almost lost their parents last night,” Brandon added.
Now back home in Lindsay, the parents say being able to hug their children is all they could have asked for.
