Western Washington survivors travel to Las Vegas 1 year after massacre



SEATTLE -  It’s been a year since 58 people were killed and nearly 500 wounded in the Las Vegas shooting.

“That’s just so sad they went there to have a good time you know,” Alicia Lochrie said.

Lochrie says at the time of the shooting she was near the front of the stage watching country music star Jason Aldean.

She says when the barrage of gunshots started she will never forget the look on Aldean’s face the moment his Route 91 concert turned into a war zone.

“That fear hits you so hard, I saw people shot all over the place it’s just so crazy,” Lochrie said.

Lochrie says she witnessed a woman directly in front of her go down in a hail of bullets.

“We sat there for a couple of rounds for the shooting but you don’t want to move because you didn’t know where it was coming from,” Lochrie said.

Lochrie says her friend Jessica who was with told her to run.

“My girlfriend said if we don’t leave right now and if we don’t get up and run we are not going to make it we ran as fast and as hard as we could,” Lochrie said.

One year later, the Mill Creek woman is back in Las Vegas visiting the same place she escaped with her life and she isn’t alone.

“Coming back here you hit it head on, we can’t stop living life because of a terrible act,” Matt Smith said.

Smith of Puyallup has a tattoo of the concert so he never forgets what happened there but he says he’s been to 15 concerts since the shooting to prove he is not living in fear.

That sentiment is shared by Dr. James Sebesta of Tacoma.

“My wife needed closure on the event and we felt like we aren’t going to let an event like this affect us from doing things we love to do,” Sebesta said.

Sebesta is also a war veteran and he is credited for helping many people that night.

Sebesta and his group went back to Vegas along with so many others to heal, to connect and to remember the lives lost.

“Feeling the love from the people of Las Vegas has been tremendous,” Lochrie said.