The sister of a 28-year-old Las Vegas shooting victim has described her final moments as she lay ‘dying in my arms’.
Athena Castilla’s cradled her sister Andrea after she was shot in the head, and desperately tried to find the wound so she could staunch the flow of blood.
She carried Andrea from the Las Vegas concert venue on a makeshift stretcher while whispering to her, ‘You’re our angel, you’re going to be fine’.
Athena Castilla’s cradled her sister Andrea(left and right) after she was shot in the head, and desperately tried to find the wound so she could staunch the flow of blood
‘She was struggling to breathe and I just held her head,’ Athena told ABC. ‘We were trying to find the wound… I’ve never seen so much blood in my entire life.’
Andrea was taken to hospital in a pickup truck but, as her sister would find out later, she was already dead.
‘We couldn’t give up on her,’ she said. ‘She deserved a chance to get help…she was literally dying in my arms.’
Andrea was celebrating her 28th birthday at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas and her boyfriend, Derek Miller, planned to propose right afterwards.
Andrea, who lived in Huntington Beach, California, was protecting her younger sister when she was struck by a bullet and collapsed on the ground
The couple, who lived together in California, were at Route 91 to celebrate her 28th birthday with her younger sister and her fiance
Derek revealed his plans after he found out Andrea had died.
‘He told me after she had passed,’ Athena told People. ‘They were planning on staying on until Thursday in our guest room.
He told me, ‘I was planning on asking her this weekend with you guys… We talked about spending the rest of our lives together.’
Their brother Adam added: ‘They had promise rings, and they always talked about it. Derek had asked my dad’s permission. He wanted to start a family with her.’
Andrea, whose mother died of cancer when she was a teenager, worked at Sephora as a makeup artist.
Derek Miller, the boyfriend of Andrea Castilla, a 28-year-old woman shot dead in the Las Vegas massacre, had been planning to propose to her right after the Route 91 festival
Andrea, whose mother died of cancer when she was a teenager, worked at Sephora as a makeup artist
Her siblings say she was inspired by her mother’s battle to make cancer patients feel beautiful.
‘With an infectious smile Andrea was a free spirit that always had a positive outlook on life.
‘She will be missed but never forgotten,’ a GoFundMe page set up in her honor said.
Sunday’s massacre saw gunman Stephen Paddock open fire on a crowd of 22,000 from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel casino.
He killed 58 and injured nearly 500 before taking his own life.
Sunday’s massacre saw gunman Stephen Paddock open fire on a crowd of 22,000 from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel. Pictured: Police at the scene during the aftermath