It was supposed to be a weekend trip to Las Vegas for his girlfriend's birthday celebration, said Kent Sisco, of Piedmont, Mo. He never imagined it would end with them running for their lives after bullets began raining down on them during a Jason Aldean concert.
Sisco and his girlfriend, Malorie Shriver, arrived home yesterday evening. In the hours since reconnecting with their families, the reality of what happened Sunday night has begun to sink in.
"We were toward the back, getting ready to leave," he said. "My girlfriend asked what that sound was and she turned around, and I turned around and the crowd was rushing toward us and she just said 'run.'"
More than 50 people were killed and hundreds were injured at the hands of 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, of Nevada, who killed himself in a standoff with police. In the aftermath, the massacre left many victims who were never hit with Paddock's bullets, but the memory of what happened will scar the for the rest of their lives.
Sisco said watching the news, hearing the horror stories, seeing pictures and videos has made the last few days increasingly difficult for the couple.
"We're not sure if we'd met any of them or not," Sisco said of the dead and wounded. "We talked to so many people while we were there. We're both physically and mentally exhausted. I can't imagine what the others are going through."
After recognizing the "pop, pop" sounds as gunfire, Sisco said he and Shriver rushed from the Mandalay Bay concert area to the Tropicana Hotel, where they were staying. In reality, it took about five minutes, but felt like much longer.
"We got in the elevator to go to the 12th floor," he said. "Someone asked if anyone actually had a room there and we did. So we took everyone in our room and we stayed there from 10:30 (p.m.) until the lockdown was lifted at 5:30 (a.m.)."
Of the strangers the couple were harboring, one in particular stands out to Sisco. Her name is Katie and she's from California.
"She was bleeding. She'd fallen down several times running. She was bleeding... and shaking. She laid on the floor and didn't move the whole night," he said.
When the lockdown was lifted the next morning, the others headed out, going back to their hotels, but Sisco said Katie was still visibly upset.
"She was still terrified," he said. "When they cleared us to leave the hotel, we walked her back to her room at the MGM Grand. I wish I'd have asked her last name so we could keep in touch with her."
Sisco said passing through the hallways and lobbies at his hotel and at Katie's was reminiscent of a movie scene.
"When we came down, there were people sleeping in the hallways. I have a picture of people sleeping in the sports bar at the MGM Grand. I've never seen anything like it," he said.
Sisco said in the chaos, it took a moment for him to realize the popping sounds were gunfire.
"When he (the shooter) would switch windows, it sounded different," he continued. "The way they were coming in, it sounded like there were multiple shooters."
At one point, he described the sounds as seeming to come from as close as 50 yards away (even though the shooter was firing from a 500-yard distance). As far as he knows, nobody in his general vicinity was hurt, but as more and more photos are released, what he understands of the situation is consistently changing.
"I've seen pictures of bodies laying where we ran past," Sisco said. "So, I'm really not sure."
As for Shriver, the experience made her feel desperate to get home to her children as soon as possible. She has a 2-year-old and an 8-year-old and said they never left her thoughts.
"It's really hard to wrap my head around the whole situation," she said. "There were so many babies there with their families. When the gunshots started I was so scared but I just started running, as my main focus was getting home to my kids. So, I can't imagine how the families with their babies out there are dealing with this. It was terrifying."