A couple who survived one of the most terrifying and traumatic moments of their lives just months ago, finally have a reason to celebrate.
California residents Mykenzie Lane, 22, and boyfriend Brandon Helmick, 21, were victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas last October.
The couple had traveled from their home in Orange County to watch a concert – the Route 91 Harvest music festival when their lives were turned upside down by the sound of gunfire.
California residents Mykenzie Lane, 22, and boyfriend Brandon Helmick, 21 have got engaged
The pair were caught up in the Las Vegas shooting last October but managed to get out alive
Mykenzie Lane, 21, was shot in the foot while escaping the mass shooting in Las Vegas
The pair nearly lost their lives as Mykenzie was struck by a bullet at the concert.
She maintains the only reason she is alive today is because Brandon used his body to shield her as he carried her out of the venue.
Brandon proposed to his girlfriend on Friday and the couple are now planning to get married in four months time on August 3.
Last years shooting left 58 dead and wounded hundreds of others.
The pair nearly lost their lives as Mykenzie was struck by a bullet which left her unable to walk
Mykenzie said the only reason she’s alive today is because Brandon used his body to shield her
Mykenzie kept jogging until overcome by pain. Brandon lifted her onto his back and got them two of them out of the area and hailed a taxi to take them to hospital
‘Everyone tried to stay calm, as though we all knew to avoid a stampede,’ Mykenzie said to the Orange County Register as she recounted the night of the shooting.
‘People were falling all around us. I didn’t know if they were hit or were ducking. There was nowhere to hide. I saw someone dying in the hands of another person.’
As she attempted to escape, she felt the sting of a bullet. Moments later, briefly hiding behind a car, she called her mother.
‘I didn’t want her to learn about this on the news,’ she said.
Mykenzie kept jogging until overcome by pain. Brandon, a baseball player at Saddleback College, lifted her onto his back and got them two of them out of the area and hailed a taxi to take them to hospital.
Stephen Paddock was found to be responsible for what has now become the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, which left at least 58 dead and 515 injured
Stephen Paddock was found to be responsible for what has now become the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, which left at least 58 dead and 515 injured.
The attack played out as Jason Aldean performed on stage to close out the third and final day of the festival, which was taking place across the street from the Mandalay Bay Resort where Paddock was staying.
Over 22,000 people were in attendance at the event with many describing the attack as ‘nonstop gunfire.’
With the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in the background (at right), 58 white crosses for the victims of October’s mass shooting stand on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip