LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — What started as just another day on the job for University Services Police Detective Nate Drum and Officer Damian Garcia ended as a day that forever
changed their lives.
Joe Moeller: What were you doing when that call came in? Do you remember?
Nate Drum: I know exactly what we were doing. We were kind of helping each other out with vehicle maintenance.
On that day, dozens of law enforcement personnel responded to the UNLV campus, but it was Detective Drum and Officer Garcia who ultimately ended the campus shooting— killing the gunman and saving so many.
Remembering that fateful day
Watch both UNLV officers reflect on the day of the shooting:
Nate Drum: When we got call of shots fired in the building, we got up and knew we needed to be there. We rushed over here in his vehicle and got out. It was chaos; there was a lot of chaos going on.
They entered Beam Hall where police knew the shots were being fired.
Damian Garcia: It wasn't until we got inside the building that I realized this is the real deal.
Nate Drum: We had absolutely no idea where he was or what he looked like. We had no information. We observed the elevator door open and we see the gentleman walking through the first level. He was by himself. He just raised our suspicions. We followed him outside these steps here and that is what you see in the video.
Watch the security cameras outside of Beam Hall that captured what happened next:
Damian Garcia: He did try and tell him, 'please stop, we would like to talk to you and the gentleman wouldn't even turn around. As soon as he spun around, he was already pulling his gun out.
That's when Drum and Garcia said they knew what they had to do.
Shots rang out and the suspect was killed. For hours, police had to secure the campus.
The innocent people who were hurt that day. It doesn't make any sense. I think everyone keeps asking that question...why?
They tell me the outpouring of support has helped them and everyone on the UNLV campus that day heal from the tragedy.
As part of the healing process, this special badge was designed for all University Services Police Officers to wear and remember during the month of December.
Joe Moeller: You designed the patch?
Nate Drum: That is right. When I returned back to work, I wanted to create a patch that kind of symbolized what an experience it was, not only me but the department. The color black is something I wanted to have in the background because it was a very dark day; it was not a good day. Embracing the scarlet and gray into the patch was something I felt was important it because this was an entire UNLV incident it affected everybody.
One year later, as they work to keep everyone on campus safe, these braves say walking by Beam Hall is a constant reminder of what happened that tragic day.
Damien Garcia: He feels very thankful and so do I. I think we were being watched over.
You can hear more from the community on their healing process here:
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