LAS VEGAS — A woman who grew up in Port Angeles said she was safe after being on the Las Vegas Strip during the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. History on Sunday evening.
Rachel Prince-Porter, who grew up in Port Angeles but now lives in Las Vegas, said she was in the middle of the strip when a gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a hotel blocks away unleashed a barrage of bullets upon thousands of concertgoers, killing at least 59 and injuring at least 527.
Prince-Porter and her husband had planned to attend the Route 91 Harvest Festival but made other plans instead, she said.
“We were farther down the strip … but we did see a lot of pandemonium at first,” she said. People were running to hotels as police were driving down the strip searching for the shooter.
In our 4th media briefing @Sheriff_LVMPD updated the casualties to 59 deceased and 527 injured in last night's mass shooting. pic.twitter.com/KWhwlnDRzp
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) October 2, 2017
As injured people went to hotels, rumors spread of multiple shooters, she said.
She ended up getting a hotel room for the night because of the panic. Local police had closed the strip and getting back to her Las Vegas home would have been difficult, she said.
Prince-Porter said that in the hours after the shooting, she had been thinking a lot about how the country addresses mental health.
“This morning there’s a lot of political talk — a lot of gun talk — and there’s not a lot of talk about mental health,” she said. “You’re not sane to do this. Mental health is clearly a problem with this person and our country.”
Bailey Bryan, a country musician from Sequim, performed Saturday during the weekend festival.
She posted on Twitter that she was safe in Nashville, Tenn., but shocked, heartbroken and praying.
“I have no words,” she wrote. “But thank you for all the concern for the crew and I.”
I have no words.. But thank you for all the concern for the crew and I, we are safe back in Nashville. Heartbroken. Shocked. Praying.
— Bailey Bryan (@baileymyown) October 2, 2017
________
Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
