LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After spending the last three days on the UNLV campus speaking to students, faculty, and staff who experienced Wednesday's deadly shooting, KTNV's Paulina Bucka talked to an expert who says there is trauma not only in being in an active shooter situation but also in the rescue.
"We were all somewhere on the campus when we got the text notifications from the UNLV police department that there was an active shooter," said UNLV senior Joleen Jones. "My wife and I ran to the dorms where these two were. When we got to the dorms, we were informed by RA's, 'No one move, no one talk, lights off.'"
FULL COVERAGE: Everything we know about the UNLV shooting: Victims, resources, support
For 4 hours, Sophia Winetz, Jones, Summer McLean, and Devin Ellison say they sheltered in place, all in different hiding spots in the dark and total silence.
"There was news that someone was at UCC, which meant they were moving closer to us and where we were all hiding," said UNLV freshman Winetz. "That was scary and terrifying."
"We were waiting in a shelter-in-place for an officer to come and release us and tell us it was safe to let us out of the building," Jones said. "We did expect someone to knock on the door. Instead, someone yelled in the hallway, 'Police.' Only two doors opened in the hallway."
"When they were evacuating, of course, they had to raise their guns, and of course, they were doing their job but were all a little freaked out," said UNLV sophomore Summer McLean.
The police response to get students to safety left a lasting impact.
"When one is in a crisis like that, it's beneficial to have emergency personnel who risked their lives to come and save and do the best they can to serve this community," said Nevada Mental Health Psychiatrist Dr. Sid Khurana. "The victims of that are experiencing trauma, and even being saved from a traumatic event is traumatic."
He says there is only one way to explain how this kind of trauma resonates with victims.
MORE: Mental health professional talks coping, healing after UNLV tragedy
"Think about if your nightlight became a floodlight. That is what is happening. Your brain perceives threats and danger. We can't even say that they perceive threat and danger when there isn't one because up until a couple of minutes ago, they were the victims hiding, or the students didn't know how this would go," Khurana said. "And while it is reassuring to hear that there are police there, they perceive a threat, and they don't know whether it is police or is it now a step to get them out, and they get killed."
He says it could take hours, days, or weeks before the shock and adrenaline of that day wears off. These students told Bucka it'll be some time before they return to campus.
"I don't even want to go back to my dorm anytime soon because of all the memories that went on there," said UNLV junior Devin Ellison.
We want to ensure we cover all aspects of how intense these moments are for not only the victims but also for the first responders who are running into danger.
The retired Clark County coroner, Mike Murphy, joins us and speaks about the police response in evacuating students, faculty, and staff.
