Las Vegas

‘That's Gunfire': Woman Floors Above Gunman Captures Las Vegas Shooting on Camera

"The noise that I thought was fireworks was people dying," the witness said

A woman who recently moved to Las Vegas from Van Nuys, Southern California, was in a hotel restaurant several floors above a gunman who opened fire Sunday night on an outdoor music festival, killing more than 50 people and injuring 500 others.

Forbes Riley was attending a party on the 63rd floor of the hotel when she heard rapid gunfire. In a video captured by Riley, dozens of people at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival can be seen below scrambling around in an effort to avoid the gunfire.

She later learned she witnessed the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history.

"The noise that I thought was fireworks was people dying," Riley said.

From the balcony of the Foundation Room, a steak house Riley was in, she heard what she thought was a machine gun and proceeded to record. Doctors said some of the gunshot wounds were so severe that they knew they had to be from high-powered weapons not usually seen on the street.

"Look at how many people are not moving," one person can be heard saying in the video.

Security at the steak house ordered attendants to cover for shelter, according to Riley.

"My two children were like, 'Mommy, please be careful,'" she said.

Riley said she did not know the gunfire was coming from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay high-rise. 

"I could see them all running," she said.

Fifty-nine people died in the massacre and hundreds more were injured. Investigators said 64-year-old retired accountant Stephen Paddock killed himself before authorities entered his hotel room.

Contact Us