KAILUA-KONA — Former Kailua-Kona resident Tyler Yim described the night of a fatal mass shooting in Las Vegas as chaotic.
Starting between 10:30-11 p.m. Sunday, Yim, who has been off island for the past 13 years, said he could hear sirens going toward the strip for hours. The next morning, Yim’s mother-in-law, who works at Mandalay Bay, tried for two hours to get to work.
A gunman, later identified as Stephen Craig Paddock, was on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, when he rained heavy fire down on a crowd of more than 22,000 at an outdoor country music festival.
The tragedy ended in the deaths of at least 59 people and the injuring of at least 515. Paddock, a 64-year-old retiree from Mesquite, Nevada, had as many as 10 guns with him, including rifles, they said.
Despite the devastation, the people of the city united.
“Later in the morning it was like all of Vegas came together with blood drives opening up all around town including my son’s school!” Yim stated.
Yim added hundreds, if not thousands of people were lined up for hours to donate blood all around town.
“It became a true community instead of just ‘Sin City,’” Yim said.
The affects of the shooting were also felt thousands of miles away on the Big Island.
Kailua-Kona resident Cody Wymer said he didn’t know he had family in Las Vegas the night of the shooting until he saw a Facebook post by his aunt and uncle declaring their safety.
Cody Wymer made a call to Krystina and John Wymer to see if they were OK.
“They had already made it back to their hotel room,” Cody Wymer said. “They were still shaken up.”
Krystina and John Wymer were in Las Vegas for their second anniversary. Krystina Wymer said they were just walking from the New York-New York Hotel and Casino back to Excalibur Hotel and Casino when they heard the first shot.
“At first I thought it was a firecracker,” John Wymer said.
When more shots were heard, John Wymer said, he thought it might be because of a gun range in the area.
“We all just stood there, trying to figure out where it was coming from,” Krystina Wymer said.
Soon after that, Krystina Wymer said a wave of people started moving into the Excalibur.
“There were hundreds and hundreds of first responders,” she said.
John Wymer said there were helicopters flying overhead with spotlights.
They next day, Krystina Wymer described the mood of the strip to be somber. People were trying to take a look at the scene, flowers were being left on the ground.
“People were donating blood and time,” she said.
The couple said they feel fortunate to be safe.
Hawaii Police Lt. Thomas Shopay worked on the Special Response Team before moving over to patrol. In law enforcement, he said, they always have to consider the possibility of a tragedy such as the mass shooting and have a plan in place.
“The biggest takeaway is it should serve a somber reminder to have a personal safety plan,” Shopay said of the Las Vegas shooting.
When going out to big events, Shopay said, it’s important to have an escape plan and position oneself by those exits. It’s also important to know simple first aid.
“We plan for hurricanes, but these mass shootings are kinda becoming a natural disaster we need to plan for,” Shopay said.
The best thing is preparedness rather than just being stuck in the middle of it.
Unfortunately, Shopay said, the world is changing where it’s not always changing for the better.
“It may be an uncomfortable discussion to have, but something like this could happen anywhere,” Shopay said.