PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — A local couple is sharing their story of survival after they thought they wouldn’t make it out of a shooting at a concert in Las Vegas.
Mark and Beccie Riggor travel from Paulding County to different country music festivals all around the country.
They chose Las Vegas this year and stayed at the Luxor hotel along with family members right next to Mandalay Bay.
They said the weekend was great, right up until Sunday.
[Photos: Deadly Las Vegas mass shooting]
“We went to get our last beer for the day because we knew it was getting close to the last act,” Mark Riggor said.
Right after the last act, they heard gunshots that sounded like fireworks.
“The venue immediately shut down all of the lights. Everybody said, ‘Shooter!’” Mark Riggor said.
People next to the Riggors were shot.
“There was a man down next to us with a bullet in his back. He had his shirt off,” Beccie Riggor said.
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Mark Riggor said he was willing to die to save his wife.
“We hit the ground for the first barrage. I was on top of her and we pretty much told each other goodbye,” Mark Riggor said.
[READ: Vegas shooter had interest in guns, video poker, real estate]
“He covered me all the way,” Beccie Riggor said. “He was going to take my bullets.”
The couple ran for shelter.
“He started (shooting) again and we hit the ground again,” Mark Riggor said.
They made it back to their hotel and spoke to family members who also ran from the shooting.
The Riggors said they feel incredibly lucky to have made it back home alive.
“Because of the amount of people that were killed, and the amount of people that were injured, that there were six in our family in there -- thank God that we all six made it out, but at the same time I grieve for everyone,” Mark Riggor said.
“We’re blessed. We’re really blessed,” Beccie Riggor said.
The Riggors said it was a weekend they will never forget, but it will not stop them from enjoying outdoor events and concerts in the future.
Cox Media Group
