This Woman Married The Man Who Helped Save Her Life In The Las Vegas Mass Shooting
Tags: opinion
It was just a whim when Chantal Melanson decided to travel all the way from Canada to Las Vegas to attend the Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival. Her friend had just called to inform that one ticket was available. But little did Chantal know that her life will change forever.
Las Vegas was the 273rd mass shooting in 275 days in 2017 https://t.co/TlboC9VwE1 pic.twitter.com/dIv5RLpJoj
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) October 2, 2017
What was supposed to be a celebratory night turned into mayhem when on October 1, 2017, a man opened fire. It is by far the ghastliest mass shooting in the history of America, which claimed 264 lives and wounded as many as 869 people.
On the night before the incident, Chantal went to Gilley’s, a quite famous country music bar. While dancing, she was approached by a man who introduced himself as Austin Monfort. Although the two didn’t connect too well to start with, after some chat and a few dances, the pair soon felt the spark.
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The flame was not to flicker away.
While going to the festival early next day, Chantal texted Austin to join her there. The pair was enjoying their dance when suddenly their whole world turned topsy-turvy.
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As Chantal recounts, just after 10 pm the manic mass shooting started. Though at first they mistook it for the usual festive fireworks, when it went on non-stop, everyone realized and dropped to the ground. The gunman Stephen Paddock was incessantly raining bullets on the crowd from the 32nd floor of the adjoining Mandalay Bay Hotel.
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As the mass shooting continued, Chantal and Austin tried to hide. The whole venue was filled with palpable panic and people were running in every direction. But these two held on to each other. Austin never left her side and Chantal clutched on to him as he eased them out of the chaos.
Though Chantal and her friends were unharmed, many died at this dreadful event. She remembers finding a woman who had been shot and taking her to the hospital in a taxi.
Owning to an emergency lockdown, Chantal had to stay the night at the hospital with her savior. This night strengthened their bond as Austin became her safe haven.
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The following day Austin left for California while Chantal returned to Canada the day after.
But their shared emotional pull of the trauma held them close. They face-timed every day and love bloomed before long. The pair promised not to stay apart for more than six weeks.
But the stringent immigration laws made it hard. So, they started discussing about staying together. 18 months after they had first met, Austin took the first step. In March 2019 they went to their favorite Laguna beach. Austin took a knee and proposed.
Their K1 visa was finally granted in September 2019, which meant that Chantal could move to the US as long as they got married within 90 days.
They drove all the way from Alberta, Canada to San Diego, California.
They had a courthouse wedding on the 1st of November as they had to get legally married within 90 days of her entering the country.
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The big wedding date was to be this year’s May 9. But unfortunately, the pandemic has made them postpone the party. However, Chantal is optimistic as at least the two are now quarantined together in the same country.
Image credit: tragedytolove
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