Police officers were some of the victims and heroes in the Las Vegas shooting, including the Hobbs Chief of Police who helped others get out of the concert venue.
Chief Chris McCall had a unique perspective during this horrible tragedy. He was at the concert with his wife when he first heard a popping noise.
“Everyone in the area around us said ‘Oh that’s fireworks,’ I looked at my wife and said ‘No, that’s gun fire,'” said Chief McCall.
He said the first shots fired a few songs into Jason Aldean’s set.
“Once the fully automatic gun fire opened up, I knew it was not a normal event,” said McCall. “You could really see the crowd beginning to move. The fear really set in at that point.”
He said his police training and years of experience immediately kicked in.
“We immediately dropped down on the ground to our stomachs and started yelling for people around us to get down as well,” said McCall.
Him and his wife crawled underneath the platform they were standing on. A few moments later, they heard gun shots hit the platform they were just on.
Each time the gunfire would stop, they would get up and start running, then lay down when the shots begin again.
“We collected up individuals who’d been separated from their group along the way, trying to get them back to safety as well,”
Eventually, McCall and his wife exited a gate but the confusion of what was going on wasn’t over. He said he was worried about secondary attacks that might be outside the venue. His main priority was getting his wife to a safe location.
“We found some good cement poles and vehicle to get down behind and wait. People were flowing through saying there were shooters in other casinos,” said Chief McCall.
He said that witnessing the chaos from a new perspective was something he hopes he doesn’t have to see again.
“In the role of police officer, you’re equipped, you have communications to some degree what other officers are seeing and how they’re responding or what you’re going to do,” said McCall. “It changes your view, it really was a naked feeling.”
McCall mentioned how thankful he was for the quick response by all the Las Vegas law enforcement saying he they saved hundreds of live.
“That could have gone on for much longer, I think their quick and rapid response saved lives.”
