SALEM, N.H. (WHDH) — A man from Salem, New Hampshire returned from Las Vegas Monday after a family trip, taking off from the airport shortly before the gunfire began at a concert on the Strip.
Steve Stewart was in Las Vegas with about a dozen family members for an annual vacation. His flight took off just 30 minutes before the gunman opened fire from a high-rise hotel next to the airport on the Vegas Strip. Stewart said when he landed, his phone lit up with numerous text messages from friends and relatives asking if he and his family were OK. He then saw the news reports about what happened.
“This is heartbreaking, I mean, it’s just horrible,” said Stewart. “You see somebody doing things like this, it makes absolutely no sense.”
Back in Vegas, Stewart’s son was in lockdown at the Mandalay Bay Hotel for hours. His room was just one floor above the gunman’s.
“He said he saw a lot, he was kind of distressed to see people all over the place, falling down that ended up being shot,” said Stewart. Another son left the Mandalay Bay Hotel for the airport just before the shooting began. Stewart said none of his family members were injured in the shooting.
Stewart said he is a fan of Jason Aldean, the country star performing as the shooting began, and had actually considered getting tickets to watch him. He ended up passing because Aldean came on after his flight and he had to be back in Salem for work.
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