Deputy Critically Injured In Las Vegas Mass Shooting Shares Story Of Survival
SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA) – A sergeant with the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department who was injured in the mass shooting in Las Vegas last year spent weeks recovering after a bullet hit his right leg, damaging nerves and veins. Nearly a year later, he has spoken out about the tragic night.
For Sgt. Brad Powers and his wife Kristin, it was supposed to be a perfect night: good music, good friends and time together.
"It was kind of like our anniversary weekend," Brad Powers said.
But an hour after they arrived at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, shots rang out.
"You could feel the bullets flying around you," Kristin Powers said.
So the sergeant did what he was trained to do: help others. Until he was shot. The bullet hit a major artery and he was bleeding out as his wife got him to cover.
"I was still getting fired up, bullets ricocheting around us. She actually picked me up and drug me underneath the grandstands," Brad Powers said.
Kristin Powers said she wasn't going to lose the man she loved -- the man who used his body to protect her. The bullet that hit him was inches away from striking her.
"He talks about me saving his life, but he definitely saved mine," Kristin Powers said.
Then others stepped in to save them, too. Two people they'd never met, Alex and Angel, took them in a truck to the hospital.
"Angel drove like an angel to get us to the hospital," Brad Powers said.
The sergeant was hospitalized for a month, and at times, they didn't know if he'd make it.
"It was hard, he's the love of my life," Kristin Powers said.
But he did, and that love came full circle last week when the Powers went back to Las Vegas for the first time since the shooting. Instead of seeing tragedy, they saw blessings. That's why they chose to renew their vows in a place that taught them lessons that will last a lifetime.
"We definitely have been reminded -- many, many times -- how short life is," Kristin Powers said.
Sgt. Powers is back at work, but is not in the field yet.
The couple said what's most important to them are family, friends and remembering how precious time is.