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Frederick woman shot in foot during Vegas shooting recounts terror

Posted at 7:13 AM, Oct 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-16 09:17:12-04

FREDERICK, Colo. -- Shannon and Craig Renke say it only felt fitting to celebrate their anniversary in Las Vegas for the Route 91 Harvest Festival. 

"We grew up listening to country,” Shannon Renke said.

Shannon and Craig had already been in Vegas for two days before the mass shooting on Oct. 1.

“It was a very 'pop' type sound,” Shannon Renke said, describing the sound as gunfire rang out.

Shannon Renke said the bullets then stopped for a few seconds before another round started again.

“It felt like it lasted forever,” she said.

It didn't take much for Craig Renke to realize the gunfire was coming from the Mandalay Bay Hotel.  

“I saw the muzzle flash so I instantly knew what was going on. The first thought in my head was, we may not make it through,” he said.

Craig Renke hovered over Shannon to protect her from the gunfire.

“I grabbed her shoulders and we tried to at least take cover. She was squatting down and I was squatting over her,” Craig Renke said.

The bullets missed Craig and hit Shannon in the foot.

“I screamed, 'I have been hit, I have been hit, I have been shot,” Shannon Renke said.

The bullet struck Shannon Renke in the foot, splashing blood on Craig’s shoes. Another grazed her leg. Shannon said she and her husband began running frantically until they found a police officer, thinking he was their safe haven.

“The cop finally said, 'OK, everyone listen, you are not safe here. I need you guys on the next pause, you need to jump up and run the other direction as fast as you can,” Shannon Renke said.

They finally made it to a safe place where they were transported to the hospital.

Craig and Shannon were then reunited with her parents and their daughter.

“There is nothing that can describe that feeling,” Shannon Renke said.