Rocklin Concert Helps Survivors Of Las Vegas Shooting
ROCKLIN, Calif. (CBS 13) – California survivors of October's shooting in Las Vegas joined together to raise money for fellow victims on Friday night at Strikes Unlimited in Rocklin.
"This is important because it shows unity in our community," said Lisa Schau, a Sacramento resident who survived the shooting in Vegas.
More than 300 people packed into the Halftime Bar & Grill on Friday, donating thousands of dollars to the cause. Lisa Fine, a Roseville woman who also survived the shooting, helped organize the event, hoping a little country music would help families still dealing with the tragedy.
"Surviving that, I had to do something, and so I rallied together a bunch of survivors and people that were touched, loved ones and business professionals, and we all decided that we wanted to do something huge," Fine said.
A silent auction featured dozens of donated prizes including Sacramento Republic tickets, Sacramento Kings tickets and an acoustic guitar signed by Jason Aldean, who was on stage performing in Vegas just before the shooting.
"I cannot get the sounds and the visual out of my head," Fine said. "It's going to take time."
Headlining the show, the Elvis Monroe Band whose members are thankful they survived that night too.
"Music was great, festival was awesome and then this happened," said Ben Carey, who plays guitar in the band.
Carey said he lost sight of his friends as soon as the shots began. Running for his life and covered in blood, he didn't even realize his elbow had been grazed by a bullet.
"Everything happened so quickly but yet in slow motion," he told CBS 13.
"You could hear the gunfire but didn't know how close it was," said Bryan Hopkins, the band's lead vocalist.
Shaken, the guys turned to the only way they knew how to cope: music. Just three days after the shooting, they finished writing a new song called "The Fight." Hopkins told CBS13 performing it at the fundraiser is a big part of their healing process.
"My best friend is safe, we lived through this," he said. "He got hit but we're here!"
The money raised tonight is not only for the survivors in California but all over the world. Each day, Fine continues to connect with more survivors and hear stories of how they made it out alive. Now, she's looking forward to figuring out the best way to use the money raised by the people in her community.