Local

‘Like a battlefield:' Sanford native describes chaos during Las Vegas shooting

A Sanford native was in the crowd with her boyfriend when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire from a hotel room window, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds at a music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday. 
Nichole Crane said she and her boyfriend attended all three days of the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, and never thought she would be running for her life during the final act.

SANFORD, Fla. — Las Vegas shooting: Remembering the victims
 
"The best lineup of acts was on Sunday, and that's why my boyfriend convinced me to take Monday off of work in Salt Lake City and stay there," Crane said. 

%

INLINE

%%

INLINE

%

She had no idea that she was about to be in the middle of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. 
She knew something was wrong after she heard people in the crowd screaming.
"I ducked completely the first time I heard it. I think my boyfriend grabbed my arm and dragged me down in the midst of the crowd. We were pretty close to the front of the stage," Crane said.
She said it sounded like she was in the middle of a battlefield.
“We were running pretty fast and weaving in and out of people pretty quickly, and the other couple we were with actually stayed crouched down in the middle of the concert venue,” said Crane. “They actually saw more people get injured."
Crane, a Seminole High School alumna, said the only thing she could think of was her mother, who still lives in Sanford. 
She is flying home Friday morning to see her mother, as well as friends at her high school reunion.

%

INLINE

%%

INLINE

%

“She was a single mother my entire life. That embrace is going to mean everything to me,” she said. “That's all I was thinking about, was contacting her after it happened and wanting to be in her arms.”
Crane said it's going to be some time before she and her boyfriend can go to another concert.
They have Luke Bryan tickets later this month and she said she will not be going.
Jeff Levkulich

Jeff Levkulich, WFTV.com

Jeff Levkulich joined the Eyewitness News team as a reporter in June 2015.