Off-Duty First Responder Recalls Saving His Wife Then ‘Getting to Work’ After Vegas Shooting

During the Las Vegas shooting Sunday night, first responders of all kinds rushed to the scene to help save lives and get concertgoers to safety after gunman Stephen Paddock began shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival.

In an interview with CNN, a first responder who was off-duty at the time detailed his reaction to the shooting. Travis Haldeman, an engineer with the Clark County Fire Department, was attending the concert with his wife when the gunfire rang out.

“This is something that we train for, however, I don’t ever train or practice for my wife being there with me,” he said. “It was definitely different.”

“It was really terrifying,” Haldeman continued. “My first priority was making sure we got her to safety, getting her in the best cover possible, as soon as we did that…we just looked at each other, had that nonverbal communication husbands and wives have sometimes, and told her ‘I gotta go get to work.’”

Haldeman added that he tried to stay calm while helping victims, crediting his training for helping him to keep a level head.

“It was difficult, however, just doing a quick scan of the crowd, I saw that there were so many people that needed some help,” he said. “I had some experience already with dealing with gunshot wounds and I just saw a lot of people that could really use some help.”

Paddock’s attack ultimately killed 58 people and injured hundreds more.

Photo Credit: CNN