The Bonds That Unite

Humanity comes together in the face of evil at Las Vegas shooting

"It was awful," my aunt, Mary Sylvester—who was in Las Vegas for the Route 91 Harvest Festival—told me when I called her to make sure she was okay. "We just wanted to get inside somewhere where there were walls."

My aunt and her two friends were not the average 20- to 30-something concert-goers. All country-music fans in their 50s or 60s who live in California's Central Valley, the trio had decided to take time off work and spring for VIP tickets to the three-day event for a girls-only weekend getaway.

One of her friends had recently had knee replacement surgery—a reason they had paid extra money to sit in the VIP section so she could watch the singers without having to compete for space with the crowd.

They were enjoying the evening and had stayed to hear the final act, headliner Jason Aldean. He was singing when the shots rang out like firecrackers, my aunt said.

Like everyone else, my aunt and her friends didn't realize right away what was happening but soon figured out that bullets were flying and shots were hitting people located closest to the stage.

As they were realizing that the concert was under attack, people around were shouting, telling everyone to hit the ground and not get up.

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