LAS VEGAS -- Heather and James Clutterbuck of Independence, Kentucky, were at the Mirage hotel Sunday night when tragedy struck, as a shooter killed nearly 60 people and wounded hundreds more.
The Mirage is all the way down the Strip from Mandalay Bay, where Stephen Paddock stood to shoot into a crowded country music festival, but Heather still thought a shooter was in her hotel since the situation there got so panicked and chaotic.
"We looked up and there was just people just charging everywhere," she said. "Just running like herds of people, and I asked you know, 'What's going on?' and the only thing we heard is, 'There's a shooting. There's shooters.' "
The Clutterbucks were in Las Vegas for the first time, celebrating a relative's birthday with a group of friends. Heather said they thought they'd try their luck at the slots when things got scary.
"I don't know if somebody came in from the Strip or you know they were running down from where the concert was and just yelling 'Shootings!' and people were just ... I think people were just freaking out and running in places trying to hide," Heather said.
The Mirage held patrons in the parking garage until police gave an all-clear signal.
Heather said she and her husband are country music fans and had even considered attending the Route 91 Harvest festival, where the shooting took place.
"Thank God that we didn’t because I couldn’t imagine," she said. "We were as far ... away from it not knowing what was going on, and I seen how much commotion and how awful everything was, so I couldn’t even imagine the people that were actually at the concert."
