Glenda Bell and her husband Lorne say they just couldn’t leave a young woman behind to fend for herself as gunfire rained down on concertgoers.
“I said ‘you’re coming with us, no question,’ I grabbed her and started dragging her out,” Lorne said in Saskatoon on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Saskatoon shooting survivors reunite with family after returning home from Las Vegas
At the time, the pair was accompanied by their son and future daughter-in-law when a gunman opened fire on attendees of a country music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday.
In total, 58 families lost a loved one that evening and hundreds of others were injured as Stephen Paddock, 64, took aim from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
On Wednesday, authorities released chilling new footage from police body cameras of the chaos, as a barrage of bullets hailed down on 22,000 people below.
READ MORE: Las Vegas police release chilling bodycam footage of mass shooting
“All of our thoughts and prayers are with the families that weren’t as fortunate as ours because we feel very fortunate to be sitting here today,” Lorne said.
A man lays on top of a woman as others flee the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after a gunman opened fire on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Like many others, the Bells thought when the first shots rang out that it was fire crackers. All four of them dropped to the ground when they realized it wasn’t.
“We’re laying down there and people were shot about 10 feet or so from us,” Glenda said.
“My thing was laying there thinking about needing to get home, wanting to get home but waiting to feel a bullet go through my body, thinking this is it and we said our goodbyes and told each other how much we loved each other.”
At some point, the four went to make a run for it when there was a lull in the gunfire. They said as they turned around, they found a woman in her 20s who was paralyzed with fear.
“She was just standing there in shock, all by herself, crying,” Glenda said.
That day, Lorne became the woman’s hero after he ushered her to safety and stayed by her side until she could be reunited with family.
A teary-eyed Lorne said he just had to save the woman and later learned her name was Amber.
“She was there, she needed help. It’s what you do, you help people – plain and simple,” he said choking back tears.
“She’s somebody’s daughter, she’s just another person that was part of my family and get out of there – so that’s what we did.”
WATCH BELOW: Lorne Bell recalls helping a stranger get to safety at the Las Vegas mass shooting
They have since heard from Amber and her sister via text. Both have sent the couple messages of eternal gratefulness for their actions.
“You risked yourself for a stranger and that’s so selfless, that stranger is my sister and she is home because of you.”
Glenda is a nurse and Lorne has been a firefighter for 30 years. They said helping others is just in their DNA.
“It’s just in our nature to always want to take care of others, it’s a human instinct I think.”
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