Millbrook woman had to run for her life in Vegas shooting

KAWARTHA LAKES-Elizabeth Heaton and her boyfriend John Munroe were having a good time, enjoying the music when the sound of gunfire rang out in Las Vegas on Sunday night. “We were having the time of our lives, we were taking hilarious, great pictures, we were having so much fun and all of a sudden we started hearing the popping noises, at first we thought it was fireworks,”Heaton told Kawartha 411. “Then chaos ensued and you realized it was gunfire.”

Gunfire was coming from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. A man had begun firing round after round into the crowd of thousands of people out to enjoy a Jason Aldean concert. Police say he used at least 10 guns, firing thousands of shots. At least 59 people were killed and more than 500 others injured. It’s the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history. Heaton says she thought the shooting would never end. “It’s just a pop pop pop and there were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them.” Heaton says.

Heaton lives in Millbrook and Munroe is a former Peterborough Laker. They ran for their life. “To go from the frame of mind we were in, to instantly feeling like your life was going to end is pretty overwhelming.” Heaton says.  “We ran and ended up running into a big security fence and I couldn’t get over it, so John ended up throwing me over, which saved me I’m sure,” Heaton recalled. “We ran for a few kilometres and went into a hotel somewhere, it might have been the Flamingo I’m not sure.” Heaton was injured while jumping the fence and had to stop running. “Whatever injury I had I was having trouble breathing and some off-duty officers from Connecticut had actually come upon us and managed to find some oxygen and looked after me.” She suffered cuts and bruised ribs.

The couple ended up finally making their way to their hotel, The Bellagio, a twenty minute walk that took hours Sunday night. “When we got to the hotel we thought that there were two deceased and many injured so to get so many updates and it went up and up and up, John quit letting me watch the updates and to find out today so many souls are gone, there are no words”

And that’s when the gravity of what had happened really started to sink in. “The hotel was on lock down obviously every hotel has a Casino that was just empty and there’s SWAT everywhere and it’s not until you get up to your room and your told not to come back out again that it starts to really sink in, ” Heaton says, her voice quivering. ” You just want to go home.”

She says her boyfriend John is her hero. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t got me over the fence, ” she says. “You never think this kind of thing is going to happen to you.”

The couple had been in Vegas since Friday night and had seen some of the same people a number of times throughout the weekend. “Even though we didnt know any of these people we surely crossed paths with them and its hard to think of so many lost souls.”

They are flying out of Vegas tonight and Heaton can’t wait to get back home. “We just want to hug our families and …. my dog, she says through tears.

Thankful to be alive.