'He Passed Away In My Arms!' Heartbroken Vegas Shooting Survivor Reveals Madness
Oct. 2 2017, Updated 9:15 p.m. ET
Las Vegas shooting eyewitness, Mike Cronk, talked to TODAY about his experience during the deadly incident, saying his friend was shot right in front of him, and a stranger died in his arms.
He was "right next to me" he said of his friend who was shot by Stephen Paddock, 64.
"We heard the gunshots go off and I think everybody thought they were fireworks at first and then by buddy said 'hey I got hit!'" He claimed he could see the shooter was coming from a top floor in the Mandalay Bay hotel, which is why everyone was lying on the ground to try and avoid the bullets.
His buddy, which was shot three times in the chest, underwent surgery for his injuries, and thankfully the "prognosis is good."
"We kept him conscious," he said of his pal. "His finger pretty much never left the bullet hole that was in his chest."
He claimed ambulances were not coming into the area because it was not a safe zone, and so he, along with other survivors had to pick up injured individuals themselves.
"There was a group of us that got four people in the back of a pickup truck to get them to the hospital," he said. "I was transferring a young… somebody's son and he passed away there in my arms as we were on the curve-side."
When asked how he was feeling during the entire process, he said he was in a sort of shock. "I was just concerned about my buddy," he said fighting back tears. "He wouldn't have left me."
Cronk said that after the shooting stopped, everyone rushed to their feet and began trying to help the wounded. "It was amazing to see all the civilians and police officers," saving lives out there, concluded the witness. "It was amazing."
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