DRACUT, Mass. — A multi-day music festival in Las Vegas ended abruptly Sunday night when a barrage of bullets from the nearby MandalaY Bay hotel killed 59 people and injured more than 500 others.
Dracut resident Mike Kuenzler and his wife had been trying to get tickets to the show while visiting but couldn’t.
“We're down here for a wedding convention when we checked in to Mandalay Bay that's when we became aware there was a country fest down here,” Kuenzler.
Speaking with Boston 25 News reporter Evan White over Facetime, Kuenzler recounted a life-changing 24-hour period.
The couple went to go see a Michael Jackson tribute, then went back to their room in the same hotel as the gunman.
“We walked back into our rooms and we heard the sirens going off,” he said.
Kuenzler is a retired Lowell police officer, but even he was stunned with what he saw next.
“We looked out the window and I’ve never seen so many emergency responders, police cars and they were all buzzing around the hotel,” he said.
They were unaware of the death and devastation at the festival next to their hotel.
They were locked in until 9 a.m., just seven floors below where the gunman had been shooting from and eventually died.
Walking outside the realized the true nature of the violence.
“You could see the bloodstains all over the place from the night before the people who had crossed those same paths wounded,” Kuenzler said.
Now the Kuenzlers are left processing what happened, like so many others.
“I think at first it was panic or fear, I think (now) it's sadness that’s setting in right now,” he said.
The Kuenzlers say they’ll finish their work conference in Las Vegas, before returning home to Dracut mid-week.
As for attending future concerts and large events, Kuenzler said he has no plans to stop, and welcomes the added security if it means he can enjoy himself.
“We strongly believe we can't let this stuff hold us back from living our lives we're proponents of going out and living our lives,” he said. “We will have to learn from this and we will have to get better and there will probably be more restrictions on our freedoms but whatever it takes to keep us safe.”
ONLY ON BOSTON 25 NEWS: Exclusive photos of Las Vegas shooter's guns
Slideshow | What is a bump stock?
LATEST | How to help | Photos | Eyewitness videos
What is Route 91 Harvest Festival? A look at scene before bloodshed
President Trump reaction | Who is Stephen Paddock?
Brother of suspected Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock: 'We're dumbstruck'
Worst mass shootings in US history | Definitions of 'mass shooting' can vary
What to do if you are in an 'active shooter' situation
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
