When domestic terrorist Stephen Paddock began firing on a music festival from his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, hotel security officer Jesus Campos was the first person to approach the scene. As Campos made his way to the room, he was struck in the leg as the shooter fired through the door.
In his first public appearance since the shooting, Campos appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in a segment set to air Wednesday, sharing his story along with Mandalay Bay building engineer Stephen Schuck.
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In clips of the shooting shared with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Campos said he was called to check on an open door on the 32nd floor. On the way, he came upon a blocked door and called an engineer, Schuck, to check on the door. He then made his way to the 32nd floor where he was hit by gunfire.
“I was walking down and heard rapid fire,” he said. “And at first I took cover. I felt a burning sensation. I went to go lift my pant leg up and I saw the blood. That’s when I called it in on my radio that shots have been fired.”
Schuck said that when he arrived, he thought the gunfire was a jackhammer at first. Campos told him to take cover with Schuck recalling, “Within milliseconds, if he didn’t say that I would have got hit.”
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The two men remained in the hallway as bullets flew past them. At one point, Campos says a female guest came out of her room and he told her to go back inside because it wasn’t safe.
Campos seemed to indicate that the interview would be the only time he discusses the events.
“I’m doing better each day,” he said, “just healing mentally and physically.”
He also thanked law enforcement, first responders and the community for coming together.
“Everything puts pieces together on how everyone came together to help that night even in the darkest hour,” he said.
Campos’ appearance comes after he failed to show up to multiple scheduled interviews, raising questions about his whereabouts. However, Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Larry Hadfield said Campos is “fully cooperating with the investigation.”
Photo Credit: The Ellen DeGeneres Show
