Huntley man recounts 'running for life' during Las Vegas shooting

HUNTLEY – No one was expecting a country music festival to turn into the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history – including five McHenry County friends who were attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.

Mike Sible, 29, of Huntley said he was at the Jason Aldean concert Sunday in Las Vegas when gunman Stephen Paddock unleashed a hailstorm of bullets on the crowd of the outdoor concert.

“We go to a ton of concerts throughout the year, so this is quite a shock to us because we are at these events all the time, and for this to happen is crazy,” Sible said.

At least 58 people were killed, and more than 500 were hospitalized.

Sible traveled with Nicola Carbonara of Lake in the Hills, Vito Busano of Pingree Grove and Jessica Foote and Brian Foote of Hampshire to Las Vegas, arriving at 10 a.m. Friday for the three-day Route 91 Harvest music festival, Sible said.

Sible, Busano and Brian Foote were at the Jason Aldean concert Sunday when gunfire broke out. Sible said that he initially thought someone was setting off a firecracker after hearing quick bangs. Alden continued to sing, so Sible said he didn’t think much of it.

“The minute we saw Jason run off the stage, we turned around and basically ran for our lives,” Sible said. “It was a lot of chaos and a lot of pushing and shoving, not in terms of physical fighting, but everybody trying to do what they can to get themselves safe.”

The festival was fenced in, making it hard to escape, Sible said. He said his friends entered survival mode, running in the opposite direction of where they heard gunshots coming from, not sure whether they were coming from someone within the festival.

“It was chaotic,” Sible said. “People were kicking over fences, ripping things down to try to find a path to get out or hide under, running into an area of port-a-potties and food vendors. We scaled fences to get to a safer spot.”

Sible said that after temporarily being separated for a few minutes, he found his two friends and they ran to their hotel room at the MGM Grand.

“Once we found each other, we didn’t leave each other’s side,” Sible said. “We were grabbing each other’s shirts as we were running to make sure no man was going to be left behind. We didn’t know where to go, what was safe, and we didn’t know if it was an isolated shooter. It was just mad chaos, and afterward we saw people breaking down in tears and not knowing what to do.”

The friends traveled together to a restaurant called Topgolf, where they stayed for three hours until authorities said it was safe. Sible said he couldn’t say enough good things about the staff there, who moved everyone into a basement and gave them water. They were able to call Jessica Foote and Carbonara to warn them to stay in the hotel room, lock the door and not answer it for anybody.

The group returned at 2 p.m. Monday to O’Hare International Airport and carpooled home together. Sible said they all shared mixed emotions on the ride – happy to be safe and able to return to their families, but devastated for those who weren’t as lucky.

“Death counts are still rolling in, and you feel for the people that weren’t able to get out in time and were innocent people just trying to listen to music they enjoy,” Sible said. “We go to concerts to let loose, and you think you are safe at stuff like that, and just never expect this.”

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.