Clifton Park Woman Gives First Hand Account of Vegas Shooting
One minute Alicia Bemis was enjoying one of her favorite Country artists, the next she was running for safety.
The Route 91 Harvest Festival is by design, a festival that Country fans from all over the country would attend. Las Vegas is known as a place to play and have fun, and holding a concert there draws fans from all over the United States.
Alicia Bemis of Clifton Park was one of those fans who made the journey to Vegas for a weekend of fun and Country music, and she ended up surviving the worst mass shooting to ever take place on US soil. Alicia caught up with the Times Union to tell her story.
Bemis told the Times Union she was in the VIP section at the show when the shooting occurred, while her friend was watching Jason Aldean's set closer to the stage. She says she knew right away they were gunshots and not 'firecrackers' and the second and third waves of gunfire confirmed those fears. The Times Union article says to escape Bemis '... turned toward a tent near the VIP lounge and crawled under a table, trying to stay out of open areas. After that she crawled away from the area; when the shooter paused, she got up and ran.
Bemis described a chaotic scene to the Times Union, including seeing a medic getting shot while trying to give a victim CPR. She says concert goers where breaking down barriers to escape, and there was a bottleneck to get out of the main entrance to the venue. She eventually got to a safe place, and was able to connect with her friend who is also ok.
Fans from all over the country were at this show, including some of neighbors like Alecia, right here in the Capital Region. The music ties us all together, and this hits so close to home as we love going to shows and forgetting about life. I think we are all connected to this show in some way, and will continue to pray for the deceased and the injured.
You can read the full Times Union story detailing Alecia's story here.