Lesbian mums say their military training helped them survive Las Vegas shooting
Memorial for the Las Vegas shooting (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Two lesbian mums have credited their military training with helping them survive the shocking shooting in Las Vegas earlier this month.
A total of 58 people were killed and 489 injured when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire on concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.
Allison Gardner was at the concert with her wife Jacqulyn Lopez, and told NBC News about how they escaped the tragedy to go home unharmed to their two sons.
When Things Get Dark, Las Vegas Shines (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“We took off running as we saw bodies hit the floor from trying to hide and take cover, and bodies hit the floor from being shot,” Gardner said.
“I remember looking back at one point, and I saw bullets rain down on the ground literally two feet from when I was running from.
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“We saw people being trampled and running into each other. I could smell gun powder and blood in the air.”
She added that her training as an active shooter during her time in the Navy helped save her and her wife, as she pulled her through to safety.
Las Vegas mourns (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
As the couple fell in the chaos, she shouted: “We have babies! We have babies to come home to! Let’s go!”
Lopez said: “My wife and I served four years and seven and a half years in the United States Navy, and not once experienced something as traumatic as that evening
“I am thankful for the readiness and training we were taught that has been instilled in us.”
Lopez and Gardner have been together for a decade, having met in their hometown of Lancaster, California and fallen out of touch, before reuniting in Italy years later during their time in the Navy.
Gay and bisexual men were banned from donating blood after the mass-murder in Las Vegas if they had sex with another man in the last 12 months.
Singer Lance Bass later hit out at the guidelines, saying: “How is it STILL illegal for gays to donate blood??!! I want to donate and I’m not allowed.”
Protest group Gays Against Guns took to the streets of New York after the massacre to call for better gun control measures to prevent similar incidents.
