Scots family caught up in Las Vegas shooting chaos

A father from Fife has talked of his horror at being caught up in the Las Vegas shooting which left dozens of people dead and hundreds injured.

Andy Milne, from Glenrothes, was in Las Vegas with his wife, daughter and her boyfriend celebrating his 50th birthday, and was just a short distance away from the concert where lone gunman, Stephen Paddock, opened fire on the crowd on Sunday, killing 59 and injuring 527.

“We were about a quarter of a mile away heading in the direction of the concert and heard what sounded like a lot of fireworks, which only later we realised was the gun shots,” said Andy.

“About 10 minutes after that we started encountering people running into us in a panic.

“One guy shouted ‘they’re shooting at us, don’t go up there’.”

With more people fleeing towards them, Andy, along with his wife Angie, daughter Ashleigh, and her boyfriend Reece Young, took cover in a nearby bar as the horrific extent of the event became clear.

“We ended up barricaded in a pub on the strip called Rocking Riley’s where we were then put into a back corridor with about a hundred others and the doors locked,” Andy explained.

“We were in lockdown for about 90 minutes, all the while we could hear helicopters and sirens.

“After that we were led out the back door to a safe Marriot Hotel just off the strip.

“They gave us blankets and water. We were there until 5.30am when the all clear was given to return to our hotel, the MGM Grand.”

As the full extent of the attack became apparent, Andy said they were just thankful to have come away from it unharmed.

“In the original melee Ashleigh was knocked over and has a cut to her wrist and a bruised knee but other than that we are all ok and are due to fly home on Wednesday, he said.”

Police say there is still no clear motive as to why the 64-year-old Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Investigators have confirmed that 23 guns were found in the hotel room, as well as “in excess of” 19 firearms and explosives at his Nevada home.

• This article was originally published in Fife Today.