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Northwest residents among witnesses, victims of Las Vegas shooting

By KIRO 7 News Staff
By KIRO 7 News Staff

LAS VEGAS — Northwest residents were the scene of Sunday night's shooting in Las Vegas that killed 59 people and wounded at least 527 others. It is the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.

Here's what we know about the local survivors and witnesses now:

Carrie Parsons of Seattle

Originally from Bainbridge Island, Carrie Parsons was among the 59 people killed in the Las Vegas Massacre, according to the Washington Post. Parsons' LinkedIn page says she worked as a manager at a staffing agency in Seattle.

Alicia Johnston of North Bend

A graduate of Mount Si High School in 2008, Johnston was shot in the back at the concert. She was with her husband Nick. Her mother told KIRO-7 Johnston’s husband took off his shirt and used it to put pressure on the wound.  Johnston had surgery on Monday and is in stable condition with a broken tail bone.

Johnston now works at SanMar in Issaquah. Her mother was leaving to go to Las Vegas to be with her daughter.

UPDATE: Alicia Johnston recently provided this message to KIRO 7 :

"There really are no words significant enough to truly express my gratitude for all the love, support, care and donations I have received. I want to thank my husband-my Hero, for shielding me from the continued gun fire and getting me out of harms way and to the hospital. The strangers that comforted me and applied gauze to my wound while I waited to get transportation to the hospital. The man, I believe named Sean, that willingly let me climb into his truck's back seat and rushed me and several others to the hospital. I want to thank the surgeons, doctors, nurses and staff at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas for the exceptional care I received. I want to thank everyone who contributed to my safe return home, including Eastside Fire and Rescue Station 87. I want to thank the surgeons, doctors, nurses and staff at Overlake Hospital for the exceptional care I received there. I want to thank my amazing home town community-the Snoqualmie Valley, SanMar my incredible employer and all my co-workers, friends, family and strangers alike for the very generous donations that will help to cover the cost of care and the long road to recovery. And lastly the owners of Extra Car Parking at SeaTac, you don't know me and I have now parked with you once based on excellent reviews and recommendations and I was blown away by your generosity and gift. It is people like you and the others mentioned here that restore my faith in the good people in this world."

-Love, Alicia and family.

UPDATE: Zach Elmore, the brother of Alicia Johnston, provided this update on his Facebook Page:

"My sister was shot in Las Vegas. I've never been more afraid, more angry, in my entire life. The problem with shootings around the country is that unless you know someone directly affected, it's easy to say "what a tragedy!" and move on with your daily life. It's not so easy when you're getting ready for bed and one of your sisters calls inconsolably crying to tell you another of your sisters has been shot. It's not so easy when you call your mother and she's terrified and crying and all you can do is try to calm her down while you figure out how to get to your sister as quickly as possible. It's not so easy to see your brother in law with blood still on his hands from doing whatever he could to keep your sister alive. It's not so easy to see your sister in a hospital bed, unable to move due to a gunshot wound in her back and staples in her stomach from surgery to check for organ damage. And We're among the luckiest ones.

I'm sick and tired of thoughts and prayers. If thoughts and prayers had any effect whatsoever, there would be a lot of people still alive today. All these thoughts and prayers would've miraculously pulled bullets out of victims and healed wounds; would've stopped these massacres before they started. Thoughts and prayers do little more than let the sender feel a little better about the nothing they're actually doing to try to put an end to these senseless tragedies. You know what's better than thoughts and prayers and lines around the block at blood banks and enormous relief funds for victims of tragedy? Creating a society where we don't have to do these things many times a year.

We waited so long to do anything after Columbine that Virginia Tech happened. We still couldn't talk about it when the Aurora theater shooting happened. That didn't change anything and then 20 children were murdered at Sandy Hook. Even that wasn't enough to promote change when Dylann Roof happened. Still couldn't talk about it and then San Bernardino happened. We still couldn't bring ourselves to discuss gun control and then the Pulse Nightclub shooting happened. Lord knows we can't do anything about guns, and then Las Vegas happened. And we're still being told now is not the time, let healing begin, don't politicize tragedy. But by all means, send "thoughts and prayers to all affected by (insert massacre here) 💔💔💔💔".

There is no place in society for any weapon which has the singular purpose to kill people. Keep your hunting rifles. Keep your pistols. If you need an assault rifle for hunting, guess what? You suck at hunting. The man who killed and injured more than any massacre in America's history broke the mold for who commits mass shootings. He'd have easily passed a background check and psych evaluation. He was affluent. He has no known ties to terrorist organizations, but he is certainly a terrorist. The system we have in place allowed him to accumulate dozens of assault weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition because for all intents and purposes he was not a risk to society.

In any of these cases, if an armed civilian were to get up and try to help using their weapon, I'd venture a guess they'd be shot dead by police long before they managed to stop the shooter. If someone stood up while Las Vegas concert goers were being massacred and pulled out a weapon, I'd wager every dime I have that person would've been shot by officers on the scene. People love the idea that more armed civilians could stop these tragedies much sooner, but the reality is if you pull your gun out during a shooting, you become a suspect.

There's this crazy concept where countries that have more strict gun control laws have significantly lower rates of gun related violence. Let's keep in mind, the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution was written over 200 years ago at a time where states may need to form a militia against their new federal government and a good gunman might get 3 shots off a minute with a musket. It's hard for me to believe the founding fathers envisioned a world where one man could or would fire 400 rounds per minute into a crowd of people. This should not be difficult. How many people have to die before people will apply a little logic to gun laws? Do more children need to die? Does a hospital need to be attacked? What is your limit? Does it have to happen to you or a loved one before you start to think differently about gun laws? The people of this country have so much power. We've protested, pressured our Congressmen and women, and we've seen that work. Why can't we do the same to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, the insane amount of gun violence in America?

Excuse me for not being ok to wait, to let healing begin, for not accepting that now is not the time to talk about a major problem in this country. There is never a wrong time to stand up for what you think is right. My sister was shot in Las Vegas in the latest of a devastatingly long line of mass shootings in this country. We're luckier than 58 people and their families, and likely luckier than many of the over 500 other people who were injured. If I don't talk about it, if we don't truly take steps to affect positive change, everyone reading this will forget it happened because they'll be sending thoughts and prayers to the victims of the next mass shooting in America."

Melinda Brockie, Lummi Nation Tribal Member

Brockie was at the concert with her husband, Nick, when she was shot in the face. Brockie stayed in ICU in a Las Vegas hospital for over a week. Brockie's family says the bullet went in one cheek and out the other. She had surgery and after a week of recovering she was able to take a medical flight back to Boeing Field.

On Tuesday afternoon Brockie, 31, arrived back in Seattle. KIRO-7 was there when she landed at Boeing Field and when she arrived by ambulance at Harborview Medical Center.

She was listed in satisfactory condition on Tuesday afternoon.  Her family said they were thankful to have her back in Washington and for all of the support from the community.

Denise Burditus just moved from Lacey-area 

A woman with Joint Base Lewis-McChord died in her husband's arms, according to CNN.

Denise Burditus and her husband -- high school sweethearts --  had just moved from Washington state to West Virginia, according to military publication associated with JBLM. Read more here.

Jordan McIldoon of British Columbia 

Canadian mechanic's apprentice Jordan McIldoon, 23, of British Columbia was also among those slain, according to CBC News.

"We only had one child," Al and Angela McIldoon, told the CBC. "We just don't know what to do."

Ferndale, Washington couple hid under bleachers. 

Jeff Bannerman and his wife Deanna along with more than 22,000 people were attended the Jason Aldean concert, as part of the Route 91 music festival, when the shooter, identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. He later turned a gun on himself and died.

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"How absolutely tragic, how something so fun and so innocent can turn to tragic and we always hear about these horrible tragedies but to be involved in one is absolutely surreal and heartbreaking," Deanna Bannerman told KATU in Portland, Ore.

Bannerman went on to tell KATU that she and her husband hid under bleachers until people started running, and stayed behind to try to assist a woman who had been shot.

"My husband stopped to help a lady who I think he thought had passed away. Tried to give her CPR and then there was a person who got shot under the bleachers with us," Bannerman described.

The couple confirmed to KIRO 7 that they are traveling back to Bellingham, Wash. Monday afternoon.

Seattle residents Matt Bolland, John Thein ducked 

As people arrived to Sea-Tac Airport from Las Vegas, many people who attended the concert were too emotional to talk about what happened.

Some who escaped the barrage of bullets talked to KIRO 7, including Matt Bollard. He was at the concert with four of his friends.

"Right in the middle of it," Bollard said. "Hunkered down and we had bullets on both sides of us ... Just find my wife, hunker down, and get out."

John Thein was also at the concert with his wife.

"I lost my shoes. I had sandals and they got trampled off and I had to run barefoot.  It was an absolutely horrible experience," he said. "Pray for all the people that didn't make it, and it's just heartbreaking.  And you can't live your life scared and we don't plan to."

The two are thankful to be alive.

Adrian Murfitt of Alaska 

Commercial fisherman Adrian Murfitt, 35, of Anchorage, Alaska, was also among the slain, a family member said Monday.

His sister, Shannon Gothard, said the family heard from one of Murfitt's friends who was with him when he died, though they haven't received official confirmation about his death.

Asked if the family was holding out hope that he made it after all, she said, "No. No."

Gothard described her brother as a man with a hearty laugh, a former competitive hockey player who still dabbled in the game.

"His whole life was always around hockey," she said.

After graduating from high school, he became a fisherman, picking up odd jobs in the offseason.

He had just come off an extremely successful fishing season when he made the trip to Las Vegas with some good friends, Gothard said.

Her brother "was happy to pay some things off and had made some really good money and decided to go out and celebrate and go to the concert and treat himself to something nice and fun," she said.

Mike Vansickle of Alaska 

Real estate agent and father of three older children Rob McIntosh, 52, of North Pole, Alaska, was near the front of the stage with friends when the shooting began, according to friend and real estate broker Mike Vansickle. He was hit repeatedly but survived, Vansickle said.

"From just getting off the phone with the family, he took three bullets to his body," said Vansickle. "He just came out of surgery, and he's going to make it."

In a personal note on his real estate website, McIntosh describes himself as enjoying the outdoors in Alaska, where he also operates a business called Santa's Fireworks.

"Whether I'm fishing, snow machining, hunting, steel welding or building my own home or cabin; I stay active all year round," McIntosh wrote.

Vansickle described McIntosh as being strong.

"He's been though lots of adversity," said Vansickle. "He'll get through all this and come out with some stories to tell."

Cox Media Group

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