Hotel maintenance worker recalls dodging Stephen Paddock’s bullets minutes before he shot at Las Vegas crowd
TERENCE CULLEN
Oct 11th 2017 12:27PM
X
Unable to play video. Neither flash nor html5 is supported!
A hotel engineer at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino says he radioed for help as soon as gunman Stephen Paddock started shooting at him and a security guard.
“I could feel them (bullets) pass right behind my head,” engineer Stephen Schuck told NBC News’ “Today” on Wednesday. “Something hit me in the back.”
Schuck was on a higher level of the Las Vegas hotel on Oct. 1 when he got a call to look at a fire exit door that wouldn’t open on the 32nd floor.
That’s the same level where Paddock would fire on a concert 1,200 feet below, killing at least 58 people.
New details released earlier this week indicate Paddock shot hotel security guard Jesus Campos six minutes before he shot at the crowd — contradicting earlier statement that he was wounded after the mass shooting began.
RELATED: What we know about Las Vegas shooting suspect Stephen Paddock
15PHOTOS
What we know about Las Vegas shooting suspect Stephen Paddock
See Gallery
What we know about Las Vegas shooting suspect Stephen Paddock
Stephen Paddock, 64, allegedly opened fire from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, leaving at least 59 people dead and hundreds injured.
(Social media/Handout via REUTERS)
He reportedly used a hammer-like tool to break out two windows at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
Stephen Paddock was reportedly a high-stakes gambler that lived in a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada.
(REUTERS/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus)
His father was Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, a bank robber and former FBI Most Wanted Fugitive.
(FBI/Handout via REUTERS)
Paddock killed himself before authorities breached his hotel room and investigators say he acted alone.
(REUTERS/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus)
Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, was in the Philippines at the time of the shooting but he reportedly used her identification to check in at the Mandalay Bay hotel.
(Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department/Handout via REUTERS)
Stephen Paddock lived in this home in Melbourne, Florida from 2013 to 2015.
(Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images)
Police said Paddock had no criminal record.
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
NBC News reported that Paddock made several large gambling transactions in recent weeks, but that it wasn't clear if they were wins or losses.
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
Paddock reportedly purchased firearms at Guns & Guitars, a gun shop in Mesquite, Nevada.
(Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)
Paddock's brother, Eric, said his sibling belonged to no political or religious organizations, and had no history of mental illness.
(Photo by Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Paddock's brother described him as a "wealthy guy" and said he liked to play video poker and go on cruises.
(Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)
He worked as an accountant and had real estate investments, according to the Washington Post.
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Paddock had his pilot license and owned at least one plane, according to Reuters.
(REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)
Up Next
See Gallery
Discover More Like This
HIDE CAPTION
SHOW CAPTION
of
SEE ALL
BACK TO SLIDE
Schuck was just entering the hallway when the first round of bullets went off at about 9:59 p.m.
“As soon as they stopped, I saw Jesus pop out….he yelled at me to take cover,” Schuck said. “As soon as I started to go to a door to my left, the rounds started coming down the hallway.”
He said he tried to think of ways to get to Campos, figuring Paddock would have to stop shooting at one point. But the hail of gunfire was “kind of relentless.”
Schuck said he radioed for help once the shooting did stop, ran down the hallway and took cover with Campos.
Audio obtained by NBC News also indicated Schuck alerted his superiors that Paddock was firing some 200 rounds within the hotel hallway.
The new timeline of events has risen questions about the police response to the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
MGM Resorts, which owns the Mandalay Bay, declined to comment to the network on the response because the investigation is ongoing.
RELATED: Donald and Melania Trump visit Las Vegas following music festival
14PHOTOS
Donald and Melania Trump visit Las Vegas following music festival shooting
See Gallery
Donald and Melania Trump visit Las Vegas following music festival shooting
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart for travel to Las Vegas, in the aftermath of the shooting there, from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S. October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Air Force One departs Las Vegas past the broken windows on the Mandalay Bay hotel, where shooter Stephen Paddock conducted his mass shooting along the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department with first responders who reacted to the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 4, 2017.
U.S. President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, greets trauma center staff at the University Medical Center after meeting with victims in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump meet with police at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 4, 2017. Las Vegas Location REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump step from Air Force One as they arrive in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S, October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
U.S. President Donald Trump is greeted by Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo as he arrives to meet with officials and first responders in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 4, 2017. Las Vegas Location REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
U.S. President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, arrives to talk to reporters with University Medical Center Trauma Center Medical Director Dr. John Fildes (L), after meeting with victims in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
U.S. President Donald Trump is greeted by survivor family members Shelby Stalker and Stephanie Melanson (L) after meeting with Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (C) and police at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to first lady Melania Trump after meeting with police at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Air Force One departs Las Vegas past the broken windows on the Mandalay Bay hotel where shooter Stephen Paddock conducted his mass shooting along the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 4: President Donald Trump, joined by first lady Melania Trump and medical staff, speaks to reporters at University Medical Center, October 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Trump is scheduled to visit with victims and first responders from Sunday night's mass shooting during his trip to Las Vegas. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 4: President Donald Trump and Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo greet a room full of police officers and first responders at Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department headquarters, October 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Trump is scheduled to visit with victims and first responders from Sunday night's mass shooting during his trip to Las Vegas. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Up Next
See Gallery
Discover More Like This
HIDE CAPTION
SHOW CAPTION
of
SEE ALL
BACK TO SLIDE
On the timeline, however, it told NBC News, “We believe what is currently being expressed may not be accurate.”
Schuck also credited Campos with saving his life.
“When the first shooting started I was kind of frozen for a second,” Shuck told “Today.” “If he yelled a second too late, I would have been shot.”
At some point Schuck’s supervisor gave him a master key to shut off the hotel’s elevators. He returned to the 32nd floor to give the key back to his boss, who gave it to the cops so they could enter the room.
Schuck said he plans to return to work, despite the trauma of the situation.
“It’s definitely difficult,” he told “Today.” “But for someone to do something so cowardly and despicable, I’m not going to let that change my life.”
Sign up for Breaking News by AOL to get the latest breaking news alerts and updates delivered straight to your inbox.
Emails may offer personalized content or ads. Learn more. You may unsubscribe any time.
“ I’m not going to let that define me.”
RELATED: Las Vegas mass shooting survivors
9PHOTOS
Las Vegas mass shooting survivors
See Gallery
Las Vegas mass shooting survivors
Paola Bautista, 39, from Fontana, California, (R) sits in her hospital bed next to her sister Daisy Bautista at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center after being shot at the Route 91 music festival mass shooting next to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Braden Matejka, 30, (L) and his girlfriend Amanda Homulos, 23, from British Columbia, Canada sit outside Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center after he was discharged after being shot at the Route 91 music festival mass shooting next to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 4: Kassidy Owen, 22, left, and Taylor Schmidt, 21, both of Las Vegas, NV, are photographed on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, in Las Vegas, NV. Owen and Schmidt both survived the mass shooting on Sunday's evening. Sometimes I think it happened then the next second I say did that really happend,' Owen said. 'I keep hearing the shots in my head, people running and hear the ambulances,' she added. (Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 4: Veteran Steve Charshafian, 59, speaks about Sunday's night mass shooting and recalls helping wounded people on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, in Las Vegas, NV. Charshafian survived the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival shooting with his wife when they hid inside their car. (Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 04: Aaron Stalker is interviewed outside Dance Dynamics on Wednesday October 04, 2017 in Las Vegas, NV. Stalker helped to evacuate and care for victims during Sunday night's mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Aaron was attending a hockey game when his girlfriend, Stephanie Melanson called him from the concert. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS - OCTOBER 3: Jonathan Smith was shot at least twice while trying to run back and save others in the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas. (Photo by Heather Long/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 03: Brian Hopkins, the lead singer of the band Elvis Monroe, is interviewed by a tv reported on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip on the on October 3, 2017, after the mass shooting that killed 59 people and inured more than 500 people at the Route 91 Harvest Festival near Mandalay Bay on October 1, 2017, in Las Vegas, NV. Hopkins took over 20 people into a freezer near the venue. Hopkins filmed himself during the shooting, still unsure of what the chaos was going on outside in the venue. (Photo by Doug Kranz/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 2: With the presence of her family, Danny Alegria, from left, Evan Algeria and Lucy Alegria - Carmen Alegria recounts her harrowing experience surviving and escaping the mass shooting that killed 59 and injured more than 525 at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Oct. 2, 2017. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
