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TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – The nation is in shock over the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, after a gunman opened fire Sunday evening, October 2, targeting concertgoers at a country music festival in Las Vegas.
At least 59 are dead, more than 500 injured and a couple from Tupelo was caught in the crossfire and are thankful to be alive.
For David and Sydney Schuch, the “Route 91 Harvest Music Festival,” was a chance for the country music fans to see many of their favorite artists, and enjoy a vacation.
“We got here Friday afternoon, and it was an awesome event, until last night,” David said.
In a video livestreamed by a concert goer, shots rang out during a set by headliner Jason Aldean. Speaking to us on his cell phone as he and his wife were heading to the airport to try and get home a day ahead of schedule, David describes those chaotic moments when the shooting began.
“You heard just a spray of gunfire and it sounded like firecrackers, is the easiest way to describe it, there was a ten second pause, five second pause and then another spray of seemed like 100 or so shots, back to back and at that time you saw Jason Aldean run off the stage, when he ran off the stage we knew it was really serious,” he said.
David describes how he and his wife started running and taking cover.
“Everytime there was another spray of gunshots, I just put my wife on the ground, and jumped on top of her to make sure she would be safe, then the gunshots would stop for a few seconds, we would take off running and make it maybe a few hundred yards, gunshots would start again, I would get her down and jump back on top of her,” David said.
David and his wife were thinking about their 17 month old daughter, who was back home with relatives.
“My wife was screaming, we need to see our baby, we need to make sure Ellie is ok, that’s all I was thinking about, keeping my wife safe. That is the first thing I was thinking, and get the heck outta there,” he said.
The Schuchs made it to nearby McCarren airport, where they sheltered. David has strong praise for first responders.
“They were phenomenal, the police officers here and first responders were incredible, and kept us very safe,” David said.
David and Sydney Schuch did manage to get an early flight home.
The Schuchs are known to many locals as the owners of “Extreme Athletics” a competitive cheerleading gym in Tupelo.
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