Friends fundraising for Sask. man critically wounded in Las Vegas mass shooting

An online fundraising campaign is underway for the family of a Saskatchewan man wounded in the Las Vegas shooting spree Sunday which left more than 50 dead.

Ryan Sarrazin, who was born and raised near Spiritwood, was shot while attending a country music festival near the Las Vegas strip. He is in hospital.

"To think that we have one of our own affected by it is really hard to wrap our heads around," said Tamara Johnson, who created the online campaign.

Sarrazin was attending the Route 91 concert with others from Saskatchewan, she said. According to his Facebook page, he owns a Bobcat services company and is engaged to be married. 

His brother Mike, who works with Johnson, left today for Las Vegas. 

Johnson said she started the campaign to show the family they are supported and shouldn't have to worry about expenses at a time like this.

The shooting in Las Vegas, which occurred just after 10 p.m. local time, left at least 58 dead and hundreds wounded. The shooter fired at a music festival crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The shooter apparently killed himself before he could be taken into custody.

Another member of the Saskatchewan group attending the festival, a woman who has not been identified, was also wounded.

Saskatoon man locked down in shooter's hotel

A Saskatoon man who was staying at the same Las Vegas hotel as the shooter says he was locked down in his room for 10 hours.

"We weren't sure what we heard. When we woke up and our phone started going off, we knew something was up," Cameron Apperley told CBC Radio's Blue Sky. 

"People were checking to see if we were safe. But immediately there was choppers and police everywhere outside our window."

Apperley said everyone at the hotel was told to stay inside their room, and they watched for updates on television. The lockdown was only lifted Monday morning.

"It's terribly sombre," he said of the city Monday morning.

"Las Vegas is the loudest, happiest place on Earth and it's pretty sombre. This hotel is a crime scene right now."

Apperley is scheduled to depart the city Monday afternoon, and said the flight can't come soon enough. But he said this experience won't prevent him from returning to Las Vegas in the future for another holiday.

"I'm coming back," he said. "I'm not letting terrorists win."

Saskatoon man in same hotel as Vegas shooter speaks out

7 years ago

Duration 3:05

Saskatoon man in same hotel as Vegas shooter speaks out

Saskatoon woman opts out of concert

Another person from Saskatoon, Larissa Burnouf, was also in Las Vegas Sunday night. She was supposed to go the Jason Aldean concert where the shooting occurred but after two days of attending shows at the music festival, she changed her mind and gave her wristband to a friend.

She said she was in her hotel casino when people came rushing in screaming about a shooter. Burnouf said people hid under tables and behind machines as they initially thought the shooter was in their hotel. 

Burnouf realized her friend was at the scene of the shooting and managed to contact her.

"You know, she's a nurse, she was understandably hysterical at the time," Bernouf said.

"She told us there's bodies on the ground, there's blood everywhere."

 She said her friend was badly shaken but was not injured in the incident.