WARNING: Graphic details. Reader discretion is advised.
When Kevin Sears found himself in the midst of gunfire in Las Vegas last Sunday, one of the hardest parts was calling his son to tell him he might not make it back home.
But he did — and now a wound beneath his armpit and a bloodied pair of shorts serve as chilling reminders of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Coverage of the Las Vegas shooting on Globalnews.ca:
Sears attended the Route 91 Harvest music festival with his wife Coleen and some friends last Sunday when the shooting began.
“I looked to my left and someone was screaming he’s been shot,” Sears told Global News.
With the crowd dropping to the ground, Sears covered Coleen before a third round of gunfire started.
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“We were in the main field in front of the stage,” Sears said. “We were basically sitting ducks.”
Sears took a bullet to the back — a shot that fragmented, likely hit his ribs, and then exited his body about six inches beneath his armpit.
As Coleen put pressure on the wound, they knew they had to make it to the stage.
They crawled under and hid there as gunfire started anew.
WATCH: B.C. resident ducks for cover as Las Vegas shooter opens fire
When he called his son he said, “Brock, I might not make it back.”
Sears was then taken to hospital alongside two other men in a police car — Coleen was left at the scene.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen and I was alone, hysterical,” Coleen said.
But she was reassured when Sears called her and said he would be OK.
Sears will take a few months to heal. It could be much longer before the couple returns to the U.S.