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On the night of October 1, 2017, 64 year old Stephen Paddock opened fire from his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. He was able to fire over 1100 rounds in just 10 minutes time, from 10:05 pm to 10:15 pm.
His target was the crowd of 22,000 people in the open field below his room. These people were attending the final night of the 3-day Route 91 Harvest Music festival. Country singer Jason Aldean was performing when the shooting began.
The end result was that 851 people were injured, and 58 people died. This incident is the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in the history of the country. The shooter also shot and killed himself, so the motive for the killing will probably never be known.
But this story isn’t about the cowardly killer. It’s about a young lady named Kami. Kami lives in California, about 4 hours away from Las Vegas, and she was at the Harvest Festival with her parents, and her husband Eli. She was there when the shooting began. She saw the terror on people’s faces as they ran for safety, and she saw the unfortunate ones that didn’t make it.
And here’s another critical fact that will be an important part of Kami’s story. She was at the festival for all three days. Day 3 is when the shooting took place. On day 1, she learned that she was pregnant.
Wikipedia article about the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting
To contact Kami: KMBroute91@yahoo.com
Episode transcript (download transcript PDF)
On the night of October 1, 2017, 64 year old Stephen Paddock opened fire from his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. He was able to fire over 1100 rounds in just 10 minutes time, from 10:05 pm to 10:15 pm. His target was the crowd of 22,000 people in the open field below his room. These people were attending the final night of the 3-day Route 91 Harvest Music festival. Country singer Jason Aldean was performing when the shooting began.
The end result was that 851 people were injured, and 58 people died. This incident is the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in the history of the country. The shooter also shot and killed himself, so the motive for the killing will probably never be known.
But this story isn’t about the cowardly killer. It’s about a young lady named Kami. Kami lives in California, about 4 hours away from Las Vegas, and she was at the Harvest Festival with her parents, and her husband Eli. She was there when the shooting began. She saw the terror on people’s faces as they ran for safety, and she saw the unfortunate ones that didn’t make it.
And here’s another critical fact that will be an important part of Kami’s story. She was at the festival for all three days. Day 3 is when the shooting took place. On day 1, she learned that she was pregnant.
I’ll have links for everything we talked about, including Kami’s email address if you’d like to contact her, at the website – whatwasthatlike.com/08. For pictures and other great content, follow me on Instagram, @whatwasthatlike.
And without further ado, my conversation with Kami.
Scott
Kami, thanks for coming on the show!
Kami
Thanks for having me!
Scott
When you were escaping from that concert area, what was going through your mind? Were you thinking that, perhaps, you could just be shot at any moment?
Kami
When we were escaping – it wasn’t until afterward that I realized that they were gunshots – my mom got separated from my dad, my husband, and me. We were just worried about getting to her. My dad’s goal was just to get us out. I didn’t realize that those gunshots were happening until we met up with my mom.
Scott
That’s just incredible. To really put things in perspective about the story that we’re about to hear from you, we need a little bit of background. One of the critical factors of the story is your pregnancy. You were pregnant at the time, but this was not your first pregnancy. Can you just give us some background about what had happened previously before this?
Kami
Sure. I met my husband when I was in high school. We dated for 4 years before we got engaged. Shortly after we got married, we decided to start our family. Right after I got my bachelor’s degree from Cal State, we started trying to get me pregnant – that was in June of 2016. Then, on 11 September 2016, I was at a baseball game when I realized that I was pregnant. I took a test the next day and confirmed it. A couple of days later, on September 16, I ended up in the emergency room because we found out that it was an ectopic pregnancy. The doctors explained to me that a woman’s fallopian tube normally is the width of a piece of uncooked spaghetti, and our first baby, at that time, was the size of a chocolate chip. Because it was implanted in that tube, the tube exploded and I was bleeding internally. So, I ended up having emergency surgery – they had to remove one side of my fallopian tube – and lost the pregnancy at that time.
Scott
That’s a really good analogy with the spaghetti and chocolate chip.
Kami
That’s how they kind of explained it to me because I didn’t understand how it was like and how it was a problem because, of course, I was trying to hold on to the pregnancy.
Scott
Yeah. So, you found out that you were pregnant on September 29 last year – that was the first day of the music festival.
Kami
It was. We were leaving for Vegas that morning.
Scott
How did that all work out?
Kami
Basically, what happened was my husband and I had set up an appointment to do infertility treatments because it had been a year since we had gotten pregnant. The day before we left for Route 91, I called and canceled the appointments because we just couldn’t afford them at the time. That next morning, after we had gotten up and ready to go to Vegas, I realized that I was pregnant. I mean, it wasn’t unplanned, but we didn’t know anything about it until we were leaving for Route 91. When we were on our way, we were in the car when I finally told my parents, like, “By the way, I’m pregnant.” I didn’t have a pregnancy test to confirm it yet, but I knew I was.
Scott
So, that was kind of a surprise at that time?
Kami
Yeah.
Scott
Okay. Were you a little bit nervous about how this one might turn out because of what happened to the previous one?
Kami
Completely. I was so worried about everything I was doing. When we were in Vegas, prior to the day of the shooting, I didn’t want to be in a casino for too long because there’s smoke and I didn’t want to be around the smoking that happened at Route 91 where people were, like, smoking cigars, cigarettes, and stuff. So, I just tried to be as far away from it as possible. Although I couldn’t prevent what happened with my first pregnancy, I didn’t want to take the chance of losing this pregnancy because I didn’t do something that could have prevented the loss.
Scott
Right. Those are things within your control, obviously. Those were at the front of your mind all the time.
Kami
Yes.
Scott
Especially, when you found out at that time, “Oh, wow! I’m pregnant. I gotta be really careful.”
Kami
Yeah, definitely.
Scott
Now, you live in California. This music festival was in Las Vegas. How far how long of a drive is that?
Kami
It’s about 3.5 – 4 hours depending on traffic or who’s driving.
Scott
How far in advance had you planned to attend this?
Kami
We’ve been going to country night at a casino in San Bernardino – for months and K-FROG was giving away tickets to Route 91 there. So, it was about a month or so, I would say, before Route 91 was scheduled to happen. My dad had won tickets, but he and my mom had already purchased their own tickets. Because we had been going and trying to win but hadn’t won, my dad said, “Oh, you and you and Eli can have the tickets.” So, it was about a month before Route 91 when we realized that we were going.
Scott
So, your parents had already gotten tickets. They were planning to go and you guys were still trying to win tickets on the local radio station. They actually won the tickets. Did all 4 of you go over in the same vehicle?
Kami
Yeah. My dad drove and we all just went there with him.
Scott
Alright. The concert was a 3-day event, from September 29 to October 1, which is a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I’m not sure how familiar everyone is with this festival, but the actual name of the festival is the Route 91 Harvest Festival and it’s held on Las Vegas Boulevard. It is called Las Vegas Boulevard now. Before, it used to be called Route 91.
Kami
Correct.
Scott
So you got there on Friday?
Kami
Right. We were there all 3 nights of the festival.
Scott
How does that work? Was there music during the day or was it only at night? How often do people perform?
Kami
I think the earliest anyone started performing was about 2-3 PM in the afternoon, but they’re just smaller names who were, kind of, trying to get their names out there. As the night progressed, the bigger names started coming out. They usually ended the night around 9-10 PM. They ended the night with whoever their headliner was for that night. So, in all 3 nights, we would get there at about 5-6 PM because we weren’t super interested in seeing the smaller stages or the smaller names on the big stage. They had two different stages. They had the big main stage and a smaller stage that was in a more covered area.
Scott
Was there music going on at both stages at the same time?
Kami
Yes.
Scott
So, that’s how big this place was – you can have music on both those stages and they wouldn’t interfere with each other.
Kami
I think the last performer at the smaller stage stopped around 8 PM so that it doesn’t interfere with the big stage because everyone wanted to be at the big stage. I mean, I would assume it would probably be, kind of, pointless to have somebody at the smaller stage because everyone was interested in seeing the big performers like Jason Aldean.
Scott
All right. Let’s talk about Sunday night. You got there sometime in the afternoon, hanging out, and listening to music. Was it just an open field with general seating or could you bring chairs in if you wanted to? How was the setup?
Kami
It was pretty general. They had an area – I think they called it ‘Corral seating’ or something similar to that – like what they have at the California Stagecoach Festival. There was the big stage and the general standing area for a couple of hundred yards in front of the stage, I guess. At the sides of the stage where everybody was standing far back right before you started hitting all the vendors, there was a place where you could set up your own chairs or purchase, like – I don’t know – preferred seating that you had to have a special ticket for. I don’t know how long was the purchase valid for. You could have general admission tickets. The more expensive ones actually include a seat.
Scott
So, they would give you, like, a wristband or something to show that?
Kami
Yeah. The general admission ones are purple. I actually still have mine. I keep it and wear it. It just says, “GA. 3 day.” That was the general admission for anybody at the standing area only.
Scott
So, as long as you had that, you could just come and go whenever you wanted?
Kami
Pretty much, yeah.
Scott
Alright. On Sunday night, where were you in relation to the main stage?
Kami
On Sunday night, when we first got there, we started off, probably, 200 yards from the stage. After certain performers finished performing, people would leave and we would move up. If someone left, we would move up. By the time Jason Aldean started, we were probably 40-50 yards from the stage. Like, we were really close.
Scott
Pretty close. Yeah. There were, like, 22,000 people attending that night, from what I’ve read. How crowded did you feel it was? Were you like shoulder-to-shoulder with people or did you have a little bit of space? What was it like?
Kami
The closer we got to the stage, the more shoulder-to-shoulder there would be. There would be room at the back if, like, you wanted to dance, pile around, and push. As we got closer and closer to the stage, as the night went on, there were lots of shoulder-to-shoulder and also people right on top of you because everyone’s trying to get closer to the stage.
Scott
Okay. Somebody who’s claustrophobic might have not been too comfortable.
Kami
Yeah. Someone who doesn’t like to be touched like my husband wouldn’t feel comfortable too. He had a hard time. He’s like, “There’s all these people and they keep touching me.” I’m like, “That’s the way the concert goes.”
Scott
That’s part of the game. Did you, your husband, Eli, and your parents all stay together when you were there?
Kami
We did. We all stayed in the same place.
Scott
All right. Now at some point, you decided to not get closer to the stage – you actually got away from the stage. What was your thought behind that?
Kami
As we got closer and closer to the stage, because of my fear of losing the pregnancy like I lost my last pregnancy – my mom said she could see on my face that I just wasn’t comfortable – I was worried that we were close to a lot of people who were smoking. As you got closer to the stage, there were people who were drinking pretty heavily, there were lots of pushing, shoving, cat fights, and stuff which I didn’t want to be around at. When my mom looked at me, she said, “Do you want to leave?” I said, “I just don’t want to be this close.” She said, “Okay, that’s fine.” She brought some snacks, desserts, and cookies that we were going to eat. She said, “Let’s move to the back and get some ice cream at one of the vendors. We’ll just enjoy the rest of the concert from there.” There was this – it wasn’t grass – like, AstroTurf or fake grass. If you sat there, you could see the big screens that they had put up. It was super far from the stage, but you could still see the screens and see what was going on at the concert. Just because I was so uncomfortable and worried about the pregnancy, we decided to move.
Scott
Your mother looked at your face and figured out what you were thinking. That was very nice of them. I mean, obviously, in general, you’d want to be as close to the performer as possible in any concert, but she put your comfort ahead of that and all 4 of you, kind of, went to the back of the crowd.
Kami
We did. We weren’t even near where the crowd had started for Jason Aldean because it was super, super condensed. As you got further back, there was less and less people. We were actually sitting on the AstroTurf in between the vendors – there were vendors at each side and this AstroTurf or fake grass was in the middle. It was really far from the stage. Almost everybody was at the stage because they wanted to watch Jason Aldean, but we were in the back where everyone was sitting to eat.
Scott
Alright, the shooting started at [10:05] PM. I know some people initially thought that it was just fireworks because most people have not heard the sound of an automatic weapon firing continuously. If you listened to some of the videos just to hear that sound, it does kind of sound like fireworks. In a concert like this, you’d kind of expect people to have set off firecrackers, firecrackers, and stuff like that. How long did it take for you to realize that it wasn’t fireworks?
Kami
Before the shooting started, my mom went to where the entrance was to get these cookies that we were going to have with this ice cream, so it was my dad, my husband, and I sitting in this area. My feet were hurting from my boots, and I remember not wanting to get up. I remember looking around past my dad to see what I thought were fireworks because, I figured, Jason Aldean would go all out and have some fireworks on the last night of the festival. My dad looked at me and said, “You need to get up!” I didn’t understand why until I heard the shots, but I still didn’t know that those were shots at that point. So, I got up, my husband grabbed my hand, my dad’s already a couple of yards in front of us running towards where my mom was.
Scott
So your dad knew what it was right off the bat?
Kami
Yes, my dad is an emergency personnel. He’s been a firefighter for about 15 years, I think – I’m not 100% sure how long he’s been a firefighter. He’s been a paramedic since I was born. So, he dealt with situations like that for 25 years. So, he knew exactly what it was right off the bat, which I had no idea of.
Scott
So he immediately knew and took off heading for your mom who was, kind of, separated from the rest of you at that time. Can you describe what happened around you then?
Kami
Well, as he got up and started running, from where I was looking at towards the stage, he started running to my right to go towards these lockers at my mom’s. As I got up – my husband tried to help me up – I saw everyone running at us and was trying to figure out, like, “Why is everybody running? What’s happening?” I didn’t get why everybody had this look, like, total fear on their face. Like, no amount of Hollywood actors would be able to recreate the absolute terror that people had on their faces. It was disturbing to see people so worried and I still didn’t get why people were running, what’s the problem, and what happened. As we got up and started running, I accidentally ran into this girl and helped her up. She went on running in the same direction. My husband came back, got me, and we ended up meeting up with my mom at the lockers. We were there for, like, 2-3 minutes but it felt like we were there for 15 minutes waiting for the bullets to stop before my dad wanted us to start running for the exits.
Scott
Did you call 911?
Kami
I didn’t.
Scott
Okay. It turned out, I think, that over 500 people did call 911.
Jennifer
Hello?!
911 Operator
This is Metro Police.
Jennifer
There’s been a shooting at the Route 91 festival.
911 Operator
Where exactly are you located?
Jennifer
I’m located right at front of the main stage. My friend has been shot. I think we can’t really move further.
911 Operator
Where exactly are you located?
Jennifer
We’re at the– Oh, my god! They’re still shooting!
911 Operator
Do you see the shooter?
Jennifer
No, I think he’s on that on the Strip side. Oh, my God!
911 Operator
Where exactly are you?
Jennifer
I’m at the village – it’s right across the Strip from the bookstore.
911 Operator
What do you see in front of you?
Jennifer
I’m looking at the left door. I’m in front of the main stage. I don’t know how else to describe it! There’s a big sound tower.
911 Operator
You see a sound tower in front of you?
Jennifer
Right. I’m in between the sound tower and the main stage. They’re still shooting! They’re still shooting!
911 Operator
And your friend has been shot?
Jennifer
(Screaming)
911 Operator
Stay on the phone with me. Are you there?
Jennifer
I’m here.
911 Operator
Okay. Your friend has been shot?
Jennifer
Yes, I believe so.
911 Operator
You’re near the main stage?
Jennifer
Yes. Everybody is running.
911 Operator
Are you able to see the shooter at all?
Jennifer
No, no.
911 Operator
Where is your friend who was injured?
Jennifer
Right next to me.
911 Operator
How extensive are her injuries?
Jennifer
I can’t see. She can’t move. (Gunshots) Oh my God! They’re still shooting! Oh my god! I’m sorry!
911 Operator
It’s okay. Did you see them or did you just hear the shot?
Jennifer
We just hear them – it sound like machine guns. It’s on the other side of the venue. They’re like shooting from Las Vegas Boulevard.
911 Operator
What is your name?
Jennifer
Yeah. My name is Jennifer.
911 Operator
Is your friend able to speak?
Jennifer
No.
911 Operator
Okay. What do you see near you? Where exactly are you located?
Jennifer
We’re faced down on the lawn right now.
911 Operator
You’re faced down the lawn near the main stage?
Jennifer
Yes, but everybody is running. I don’t know if we can get her up.
911 Operator
She’s not able to move?
Jennifer
Oh my God… No.
911 Operator
Is she conscious?
Jennifer
Yes, she’s conscious.
911 Operator
What is her name?
Jennifer
Carrie. (Gunshots) Oh my God! Why have they not come in yet?
911 Operator
We got help on the way, okay?
Jennifer
Yeah. (Sobbing) Okay. She’s passing out. She’s passed out.
911 Operator
Where is she bleeding at?
Jennifer
I saw it, like, at the right side of her breast.
911 Operator
We have help on the way, okay? They’re gonna get there soon.
Jennifer
Okay, thanks.
911 Operator
You’re welcome. Bye.
911 Operator
Hi, this is 911 emergency.
Tracy
Hi. Please, I think we need the police at that Route 91 Harvest Festival. I think there’s been a lot of shots been fired. Does everybody know that?
911 Operator
Are you at the Mandalay Bay?
Tracy
We are. We’re actually hiding near the Porta Potty area.
911 Operator
Hey, ma’am. Are you at the harvest festival?
Tracy
Yes! We’re at the harvest festival!
911 Operator
Ma’am, did you see the shooter?
Tracy
No!
911 Operator
Okay, ma’am. What’s your name?
Tracy
Tracy.
911 Operator
Where are you at Mandalay Bay?
Tracy
We’re closer to Mandalay Bay. We’re in the parking area but we’re hiding in–
911 Operator
Okay. You’re the parking area?
Tracy
No, no, we’re hiding at the porta-potty area. We keep hearing the shots getting closer and there are tons of people down out there, I think. Oh my God!
911 Operator
Are you saying that the shots are coming closer?
Tracy
I feel like they’re coming closer to us.
911 Operator
Where’s the Porta Potty?
Tracy
We’re on the street side across to the left door. There are a bunch of porta-potties there. People are still running, but we hid back here.
911 Operator
Okay. They sound closer – is that correct, ma’am?
Tracy
Yes!
911 Operator
Did you see the shooter?
Tracy
No. (Gunshots) Can you hear it?
911 Operator
Yes, ma’am.
Tracy
It’s like someone has a machine gun or something.
911 Operator
Are you safe? Are you super safe?
Tracy
I don’t know. We feel like we’re safe but we don’t know what’s gonna come around. We need the police. (Sobbing)
911 Operator
Okay, ma’am. We’re on our way. Just stay with me. You’re doing a good job, okay?
Tracy
Okay. My daughter and I are so scared. (Sobbing)
911 Operator
Ma’am, you didn’t see the shooter, though – right?
Tracy
No, I don’t want to look.
911 Operator
Okay. No, I don’t want you to look. Stay where you’re safe. Are you able to safely move or do you feel safer there?
Tracy
We’re with a group of people and we have an air us here. There are probably about 15 of us out here. (Chattering) The shooters are on the Strip.
911 Operator
The shooters are on the Strip?
Tracy
They think they’re on the Strip.
911 Operator
Where on the Strip? How many are there? Did anyone see the shooter?
Tracy
They said they’re on the top of the Mandalay.
911 Operator
Who is?
Tracy
The shooters are on top of the Mandalay!
911 Operator
Where?
Tracy
I don’t know. Somebody just came by, told us that he opened the gates for us to get out.
911 Operator
Okay. So are you leaving? I mean, I want to make sure you’re safe. Is there a guy there that I can talk to?
Tracy
They told us to not go all at once. They said every 5 people every 30 seconds.
911 Operator
Okay. Who’s talking? Is the police with you? Who’s telling you?
Tracy
Um, a security guard came by and said, “Hey, we’ve opened the gate.”
911 Operator
Okay. Is security helping you, ma’am?
Tracy
Not now. They’re just opening the gate for us and letting a few people out at a time.
911 Operator
Ma’am, do you know where the shooter is on top?
Tracy
No, I can’t see.
911 Operator
Where’s the person that said they saw the shooter? Where’s the person at?
Tracy
He’s gone. He just came by and told us how to get out of here. (Chattering) But we can’t get out.
911 Operator
Okay, just stay where you feel safe at.
Tracy
She said to stay where we are. Okay, I’ll let you go.
911 Operator
Okay. We’re around the area, ma’am.
911 Operator
Hi. 911 Emergency.
Esmeralda
Hi. There have been shots fired at Route 91 concert.
911 Operator
Where at?
Esmeralda
It’s at the Strip.
911 Operator
Where at the Strip?
Esmeralda
Right across the street at Mandalay Bay.
911 Operator
Okay. Just a moment. Did you see who’s shooting?
Esmeralda
No, we don’t know. We just hear gunshots.
911 Operator
Okay. How many people were there?
Esmeralda
Thousands of people.
911 Operator
Okay. If you can stay on the line, please stay on the line.
Esmeralda
Okay.
911 Operator
Can you please tell me what are you seeing? (Gunshots)
Esmeralda
I’m on top of the House of Blues. We’re trying to stay down.
911 Operator
Okay. Where did the shooting start?
Esmeralda
It sounds like it’s coming from the west. (Sobbing)
911 Operator
Ma’am, what do you see?
Esmeralda
I’m not seeing anything. Everyone’s just running away.
911 Operator
Which way are you running to?
Esmeralda
I’m running to the north.
911 Operator
Okay. You said you’re on the House of Blues but, now, you’ve left the house? Did you see anyone injured?
Esmeralda
No.
911 Operator
Are you still hearing the gunshot right now?
Esmeralda
Yes, I am.
911 Operator
Ma’am, what’s your name?
Esmeralda
My name is Esmeralda.
911 Operator
Where are you right now, Esmeralda?
Esmeralda
I’m on the House of Blues.
911 Operator
I understand. Are you guys on the roof?
Esmeralda
Yes, we’re on the roof.
911 Operator
Okay. Are you up there with everyone? Does everyone seem safe or are they still running?
Esmeralda
There’s no way to get down where we’re at.
911 Operator
Okay, ma’am. We have officers en route.
Esmeralda
Okay. Bye.
Scott
So you took cover behind, like, a wall of lockers where people could put their stuff while they’re at the concert and come back and get it later?
Kami
Yes. It was very similar. It was kind of like a ‘U’ with a line of lockers in between that faced outwards. That morning, we just decided to rent – we didn’t know that they had them – one of these lockers. You could bring in food. Everybody could bring in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag worth of whatever. There were 4 of us. We brought in sandwiches, snacks, and cookies and that’s where my mom had stored everything. She was the one with the combination key, which was why she had gone to the lockers to get all this stuff.
Scott
Got it. So you took cover behind the lockers for a while. Could you tell which direction the shooting was coming from?
Kami
From where we were at the lockers, it sounded like it was coming from the stage. It was close to us, but it didn’t sound like it was coming from across the street, I think, where the Luxor was or the exit where the Tropicana was. I could tell that it was coming from behind us over by the main stage. I mean, it was loud enough that it was obvious but it wasn’t, like, so deafening that you couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
Scott
Once you left the locker area, how far away were you from the car? Was it a car or truck?
Kami
It is a pickup truck.
Scott
So, you guys wanted to get to the pickup truck to get out of there. How far away was that? How far did you have to walk?
Kami
I’m terrible as far as measurements go, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you 100%. I would guess that it’d be, like, 200 yards. We were at the edge of the street where the venue was. Basically, we crossed the street and ran about halfway into Tropicana’s parking lot. We parked pretty close that day, so we were closer to the venue than we were every other night, luckily.
Scott
As you were walking or running, did you see other people that had gotten injured or shot?
Kami
We didn’t. There were some people who were just lying down. It was hard to know if they were dead or injured. Later, my dad told me that he wanted to stop because his instinct as a first responder was to stop and help people. But he was also worried because my mom and I just aren’t used to that kind of stuff, so he needed to take care of us first. Every time we got to somebody, thankfully, there was already some kind of first responder or a nurse or another person like my dad who was able to help whoever was injured. I remember that we were at the edge of the Tropicana parking lot where there was, like, a tour bus. I don’t remember whose was it. There was a guy behind there who had been shot through the knee and he was sitting there. So, we stayed with him for, like, a minute before some first responders were able to get to him. Then, from there, we just kept going until we hit the car or the truck.
Scott
It seems like it would be a little scary thinking ‘Okay, I’m running toward safety’ but still running past people who had already been shot. Did it seem like, maybe, you were running into more danger?
Kami
I didn’t feel like I was running into more danger. I mean, we were just trying to get to the truck. There was no sense of safety because we didn’t know where the shooting was coming from, how many shooters were there, or what kind of an angle they had. So we were running to our truck without any kind of assurances that we were running towards anywhere safe.
Scott
At that point, all 4 of you were back together – right? Based on where you were parked, when you got into the truck, did you feel safe in there?
Kami
It felt safer than being on the grounds of Route 91. There was chaos happening around us – like, I don’t know if people understand that there was a shooting happening. We were trying to get out onto the street from the Tropicana parking lot, but nobody would move – it was just trafficking. I don’t know if it was because they didn’t realize that all of this was happening around them. So the further we got away from the venue, the safer it felt. As I said, we didn’t know where the shooting was coming from – it could have been from anywhere – it still felt uneasy even when we were in the truck.
Scott
Mm, definitely. Before you got in the truck, as you were heading to the truck, did you hear other people talking? What were people saying as they were fleeing?
Kami
People were just saying, “What the hell happened? I can’t believe that this is happening! Is everybody okay? Where’s so and so?” There was so much uncertainty. I mean, everybody just wanted to get out. Some people were saying, like, “I’m leaving Vegas tonight! Fuck this place!” Like, they were super upset, obviously. People were just ready to leave.
Scott
Especially when you see people who had been shot as you’re going past them. I mean, it’s literally like a war zone. I mean, people aren’t used to seeing anything like that.
Kami
Yeah. There’s so much that you hope nobody would ever see in their life. I’m sure nobody expected to see that kind of stuff happening at a concert.
Scott
I’m sure you must have been scared for the baby as much as you were scared for yourself.
Kami
Yeah. My number one goal was just to do what I could for the baby.
Scott
That’s a mother’s instinct right there. As you got into the truck and left– I mean, the city would have just been in total chaos then.
Kami
As we were driving, we took one of the side streets that run parallel with Las Vegas Boulevard – I forget the name of the street – and we were heading towards a condo where we were staying, which was really close to the Rio. As we turned left to the street that takes us to Rio, you could already see that the cars on the freeway are completely stopped. Like, nobody was allowed on it. They had cones and flashers. They had shut down the freeway right there so that nobody could leave.
Scott
Of course, by that time, the shooting had probably stopped because the actual shooting only took about 10 minutes – he shot, like, over 1,000 rounds at that time. They didn’t know where he was, maybe. Maybe, they did by that time. I’m not sure what the timeline was. Did you just drive back home that night? What did you do that night? You said you went back to your condo?
Kami
We did. When we were leaving the Tropicana, we actually had 3 couples that jumped into the bed of the truck because they were trying to get away from everything. When we had gotten to a stoplight, one of the couples had gotten out to try and call some family that they had there who were local. The other 2 couples asked if they could come back to the condo with us because they were staying on the Strip – one couple was staying at the Luxor and the other couple, I think, was staying at Mandalay Bay. Obviously, they couldn’t get back to their hotel, so we all just went to the condo, turned on the news, stayed up, and just kind of watched it until the couples were ready to go back.
Scott
Wow. These are obviously people who you didn’t even know. In the midst of a disaster like that, everybody just helps everybody.
Kami
Pretty much, yeah. We had no idea who they were. I know one of the couples was from Canada – they traveled all the way from Canada to go to this festival – they are both police officers. Another couple was also from California and they worked at Disneyland.
Scott
You’re all country music fans. That was the bond that held you together, sort of, pretty much. After you got back to the condo that night with these other people, you were all watching the news. Obviously, there would probably be live coverage all night long. I can’t imagine the sense of relief you had, knowing that you escaped that but so many people didn’t.
Kami
Yeah. When we were watching the news, they seem so unsure about what was happening. I mean, we were far enough from it that we were safe. That was probably one of the biggest reliefs that we had because we could, at least, make it out of Vegas when there were over 50 people who died and many more who were injured.
Scott
Right. Wasn’t it, like, 500 people who were injured?
Kami
That’s what I read.
Scott
Unbelievable. Well, this story has a happy ending not just because you escaped that night. Tell us what’s happened since then.
Kami
When we came home, we went and saw the doctor. They told us everything was fine. Then, 9 months later, I gave birth to our daughter on my 25th birthday.
Scott
Oh, wow! She has the same birthday as you!
Kami
She does. That was actually her due date, too. When we came back from Route 91, they said, “Oh, your due date’s June 14.” My husband said, “Oh, that’s amazing!” The nurse was, like, “Why?” I said, “Oh, that’s my birthday.” She went, “Well, not every baby’s born on their due date. It’s not going to be likely that she’ll be born on hers.” Lo and behold, she was.
Scott
That’s incredible. So you had little baby Rosalie on June 14.
Kami
I did. Yes.
Scott
And you are now a happy, happy mother!
Kami
I am. It kind of feels like everything came full circle. We’re finally able to, kind of, close the door on what happened there because our biggest worry was getting home and getting the baby inside of me home. Now, she’s the baby who’s outside of me. So, we can kind of share the protection now – it’s not just me who’s physically responsible for her.
Scott
And you actually credit Rosalie for saving your life?
Kami
I do. Yeah. We definitely would have hung in there and just, kind of, dealt with the smoke, the weed, the drinking, and the rowdiness if I didn’t have this little life inside me. Because Rosalie was inside of me, I was trying to protect her in any way that I could to prevent another loss – that’s why we moved. If I didn’t have Rosalie inside of me or, at least, know that she was inside me, we would have stayed and just partied.
Scott
Right. Yeah. Do you ever think about the fact that you’re a survivor of the deadliest mass shooting in American history?
Kami
Sometimes, I think about it. Like, people asked me about Route 91 all the time because they saw me as a survivor – I know that I am – but I guess I just don’t see myself, first and foremost, as a survivor. Like, there are so many identities that I have – a wife, a mother, and a daughter – so, the survivor isn’t one that I’m accustomed to and, I guess, I’ll need to get used to that.
Scott
Does this experience give you any kind of different outlook or perspective on life?
Kami
It does. I think everybody has this idea that life is precious and that everything happens at the right time. Rosalie is living proof to me that God had a plan for my life. If I had gone to Route 91 and had not been pregnant, if I had kept my first pregnancy and had that baby, I would have gone to Route 91 without being pregnant. There’s no telling what could have happened to me, my husband, and my parents if I didn’t lose the pregnancy at that time. I didn’t know, at that time, that this loss was going to be better for me in the future. I mean, as soon as Rosalie came to be, I knew that was why. She was given to us at that time to save us – there’s no better testimony that God has this plan for everybody’s life – and I truly see that and believe it now more than I ever did.
Scott
Sometimes, things can happen in our lives that make us take a different direction and we can’t see where it’ll lead us, but when you look back at the history and see what events led to another, it’s pretty amazing to see where it led us to.
Kami
Yeah, we spent so many months being angry that we lost that pregnancy. We couldn’t understand that there was so much more to be gained than what we lost.
Scott
Well, Kami, it’s a wonderful story. I’m so glad it has a happy ending. I love stories like this. I appreciate your time. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!
Kami
Of course! Thanks again so much for having us. We appreciate it.
Scott
Thanks for listening to this episode. My goal for each show is to introduce you to people and stories that you just won’t find on other podcasts. If you want to help support the show, you just need to subscribe! That way, you’ll never miss an episode. You can click on any of the ‘Subscribe’ buttons on the website, which is WhatWasThatLike.com. You’ll see all the links right there at the top, where you can subscribe directly to this show on Apple podcast, Google podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher, radio, or on whatever app you use to catch your podcasts. You’ll see there are also links to Twitter and Instagram – so, you can follow us there and I hope you do. If you really want to connect with me and get in on the discussion with other listeners to the show, you can join our private Facebook group. You can find that at WhatWasThatLike.com/Facebook. Of course, you can always email me directly at Scott@whatwasthatlike.com, or just go to the website and click on ‘Contact’. I’d love to hear what you think of this episode or a previous episode. Thanks again for listening and I’ll see you on the next show where we’ll once again ask the question, “What was that like?”