Barrie resident Todd Tuckey woke up in Las Vegas this morning to 85 text messages from people concerned about his well-being.
The local businessman found himself running for his life along with everyone else at the scene of a mass shooting on Sunday.
Tuckey was playing cards at the MGM Grand Hotel when a stampede of people suddenly burst through the doors.
"All of a sudden it was like a herd of people came running in and screaming and yelling 'There's a shooter out there.' And then we could actually hear the machine gun fire. It was like a stampede. Like something you've never seen. It's like out of a movie," said Tuckey during a telephone interview from Las Vegas on Monday.
"There was five of us and we all started running. We lost each other right away. It was just that much of a crowd and that much chaos."
A gunman on the 32nd floor of neighbouring Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino had opened fire on a crowd of 22,000 concert-goers below.
At least 58 people died and at least 515 others were injured. It is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The president and owner of Tamarco Contracting Ltd. in Barrie had only arrived in Vegas Sunday afternoon for a convention.
He's travelling with a group of business people from Barrie.
During the chaos, Tuckey found himself locked outside, panicked, but managed to work his way back inside the MGM lobby.
"When I got in they were ushering people in behind the front security desk, getting everybody off the floor. You can just imagine what that would be like because MGM has 5,000 guest rooms," he said.
"It was just sheer horror with everybody that was running. They were crying and screaming. People with blood all over them. They were recounting right in front us us seeing a guy with a bullet go right through him, trying to help people but they're trying to get out of there. It's just sad."
Once his group managed to reconnect, Tuckey and his colleagues returned to their room where they thought it was safe.
They watched the incident unfold on live tv and then could look out the window of their 25th floor room and see it happening on the strip.
"So surreal," he said
Gaming tables are still locked down, according to Tuckey, because casinos need to review surveillance video.
"They said in the twenty years, it has never been shut down. Ever."
His convention starts tomorrow and continues Thursday.
"We're very fortunate, None of us was injured but we're just extremely sad," he said.
He posed for a photo with Las Vegas Police Officers Monday, many who were called in and are 'great' despite mourning their own.
Tuckey wanted to thank police for being out in large numbers today to help people feel safe.
The terrifying ordeal has brought renewed appreciation for Canadian gun laws, he said, discussing the differences between our country and the U.S. with the officers on the street.
"I said, I know you guys have this right to arms as part of your constitution but I think that's absolutely crazy. At home, if you want to buy firearms you actually have to earn that right. You have to prove that your worthy. That you don't have a bad background or mental issue," he said.
"When you look at things like this you thank god for the country we live in.'
MGM Grand was offering crisis counselors for anyone who needs to speak with someone.
