A 30-year-old man who helped dozens escape harm during the Las Vegas massacre that left 59 dead may have a bullet lodged in his neck for the rest of his life.
Jonathan Smith had come from California to attend the Harvest Country Music Festival to help his brother celebrate a birthday, according to the Washington Post. Several of his family members were in attendance Sunday night, and they were close to performer Jason Aldean and the stage when shots rang out.
Smith was focused on finding relatives, but ended up helping countless strangers instead.
“Active shooter, active shooter, let’s go! We have to run,” he instructed to panic people around him, according to the Washington Post.
“I ran back towards the shooting and there was one lady that was on the ground,” Smith recalled to ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday. “I basically helped her up and just told her just to run. I basically just told her we got to go.”
Smith continued to help people as the shots rang out. He was wounded while helping young girls and telling them to get on the ground, according to the Washington Post.
He believes that an off-duty California police officer probably saved his life by trying to stop the bleeding from Smith’s wound, according to the newspaper.
Smith was hailed on social media as a hero after a photo of him went viral.
“I don’t see myself that way,” he told the Washington Post. “I would want someone to do the same for me. No one deserves to lose a life coming to a country festival.”
He was thankful that all his relatives escaped safely.