Bryan Vagts (right), a native of Eldorado, and his girlfriend Morgan Slechta stand near the stage of the Route 91 Concert in Las Vegas, Nev., just hours before the most deadly mass shooting in U.S. history. The couple, along with Slechta’s mother, are thankful to have survived the tragic night which was supposed to be a relaxing evening of music and entertainment. (submitted photo)
A night never to be forgotten
Zakary Kriener
News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com
What started as a weekend full of good friends, country music, and fun for Eldorado native Bryan Vagts, quickly turned into a night he will never forget.
“We got tickets for the Route 91 Harvest in Las Vegas a few months back,” recalled the 2012 North Fayette graduate. “My girlfriend, Morgan (Slechta), and her mom had been looking forward to the weekend for a long time.”
The young couple and Slechta’s mother departed from Florida, where they currently reside, just weeks after they endured Hurricane Irma. They arrived in Las Vegas and started to take in the many sites and attractions of the city on Friday, Sept. 29, before attending the first night of the three-day music festival.
“We went to the concert all three nights, seeing Eric Church and Sam Hunt on Friday and Saturday night, before heading to Sunday night’s show to see the headliner, Jason Aldean,” said Vagts. “Everyone was happy and having a good time as Jake Owen played first Sunday night. Little did everyone know, everything was about to change.”
After Owen went off stage, Vagts and Slechta walked toward the back of the concert area to take a break and found Morgan’s mom, who was sitting in the bleacher and lawn chair area. They sat down and rested as they conversed and sang along to the DJ that was on stage during the intermission.
“When it got close to the time for Jason Aldean to come on stage, I decided to go back up and get as close as I could to the stage while Morgan and her mom stayed back to watch from their lawn chairs,” explained Vagts. “I walked up and got about 30 rows back from the front of the main stage, then he started playing his opening songs.”
He went on to say that as Aldean played one of his hit songs, “When She Says Baby,” the first rounds of gunfire went off from the Mandalay Bay area, which was not far from the concert.
“Another magazine unloaded as the shooter shot aimlessly into the crowd. The lights flickered, and Jason stormed off the stage,” said Vagts. “At that moment, I looked to my left and there was a girl that had been shot in her left arm. I froze for a second, then reacted.”
He recalled tending to the side of the 20-something-year-old girl as she lay on the floor next to her boyfriend and another guy.
“I screamed, get a tourniquet! Get a tourniquet!” remembered Vagts, who is a six-year veteran of the National Guard. “One of the guys grabbed his belt and wrapped it around her arm to help stop the pressure while I put pressure on the wound. The girl’s eyes started to close as she was going into shock, then another round of shots burst out. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop! They were very fast and loud.”
