When a national tragedy happens, media discussions tend to focus on the perpetrator.
In the case of the recent Las Vegas shooting, everyone is wondering why the shooter did it, what his motivations could have been, and how we can prevent this kind of thing from ever happening again.
However, what often gets very little media attention is how survivors feel and what happened to them. What is it like to live through the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history?
With the internet and social media, victims now have a way to share their stories. And that’s just what Renee Cesario did. She was in Las Vegas at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, where she was enjoying her evening listening to music and dancing with fellow country music fans. That’s where she met Brendan Kelly.
The two quickly became friends and started to enjoy the music together.
Although they met only two hours before the start of the long-awaited Jason Aldean concert, they had a great time in each other’s company. Who could have guessed that before the evening was over, their newfound friendship would become a relationship they would both remember for the rest of their lives?
Right before the Aldean show began, Renee and Brendan made their way to the front of the crowd. They wanted to be in the very front so they didn’t miss a thing. Once the show began, the two were dancing and having fun, fully enjoying the night ahead of them. However, that all ended sooner than either of them expected.
In a Facebook post on Love What Matters, Renee wrote:
“We were just dancing and having fun, and then, all of the sudden, there were loud noises that sounded like fireworks but no lights were going off.”
That’s when she knew something was wrong.
“It stopped, and Jason Aldean kept playing, but then the shots fired again, and he ran off the stage. Before I knew what was going on, Brendan tackled me down to the ground and covered me from the fire.”
Terrified and not knowing what to do, Renee just stayed put and waited for the chaos to end.
But it didn’t. Brendan made the decision that they had to get out of the area because there was no way they could stay there and be safe. So, he pulled her up by the arm and told her to keep running until they were safe. They had to make their way over people that they didn’t know were dead or alive.
When the pair finally got out of the line of fire, Brendan let Renee use his cellphone. She then texted her sister to let her know that she was safe. Her sister did not hesitate to show her gratitude to Brendan, typing:
“Thank you sooo much from the bottom of my heart for taking care of my sister… seriously. Have a safe night.”
In the face of such unimaginable violence and cruelty, we are still able to find some good in the world.
When Brendan could have been selfish and protected himself, he instead used himself as a human shield to protect a girl that he barely knew. Even though this kind of news can be disheartening and depressing, knowing that there are people like Brendan out there should make us all feel a little bit better about the world we live in. It might not be perfect, but there are truly kind people out there making the world brighter for all of us.
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Source: Love What Matters
