Las Vegas shooting: Man who believes he was staying in hotel next to gunman Stephen Paddock describes attack as 'hardcore'

'It was the most terrifying moment of my life'

Andrew Griffin
Monday 02 October 2017 12:29 BST
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A man who says he was in the room next door to the Las Vegas shooter has described the horror of the attack.

Brian Hodge, a concert producer from Australia, described the night as "hardcore" and "like a scene from a movie" as he ran to escape the shootings that left more than 50 people dead.

The gunman Stephen Paddock sprayed shots from his Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino hotel room down into a concert that was taking place below. Paddock, who was shot dead by police, was thought to be staying in a room on the 32nd floor from which he fired into the crowd, injuring more than 100 and killing at least 50 people in the deadliest mass shooting in recent US history.

Las Vegas shooting: What we know so far

Mr Hodge believes that he was staying in the next hotel room along in Mandalay Bay, and was on his way back his room when the shooting began.

"It was hardcore, like it was full machineguns for 20 seconds and then it stopped for five seconds then it just went again it," Mr Hodge told The Age.

"There were so many shots fired, I couldn't tell you how many. A woman came right up to my face and she said 'you've got to turn back there is a shooter' and we all just started running."

"When we got to the ground floor of the casino it was just utter chaos," he said. He hid in the bushes outside for hours until he believed it was safe, he posted on Twitter.

"We could just hear bullets being fired and then we could see the bright lights of helicopters flying over the top of us," he told The Age.

"I was just laying on the ground. It was like a scene from a movie. The shooter was up above, we didn't know where they were... I didn't want anyone to know where I was so I just curled up and hid. It was the most terrifying moment of my life."

Mr Hodge had been staying in room 32134 of the hotel. Numerous reports suggest that Paddock had been staying next door, and Mr Hodge said he was "so glad" he hadn't made it back to his room already when the shooting broke out.

He has now posted on Instagram to say that he is safe, apparently staying in another hotel in Las Vegas.

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