Nurse and man in wheelchair recount their daring escape from Las Vegas shooting

Las Vegas nurse and man in wheelchair recount daring escape

We're taking a closer look at a moment of remarkable selflessness during the Las Vegas attack. An incredible photo of a woman risking her own life to help a man in a wheelchair escape Sunday night's shooting has been seen around the world.

Nearly four days after they were targeted, George Cook and Lorisa Loy are talking about the now-iconic photo of their daring escape, reports CBS News correspondent DeMarco Morgan.   

LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 01: A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  David Becker / Getty Images

"Do I get on the ground? You know, jump out of my chair and get on the ground or stay in my chair? I chose to stay in the chair. That's when Lorisa came to me, to my right, and said 'hi George, I'm Meghan's mom, I'm gonna get you outta here,'" Cook said.

Lorisa Loy CBS News

'I see that picture and I'm like, 'oh my God, gunshots were fired and I'm standing up straight,'" Loy said. "Yeah that kind of freaked me out a little bit. I can't lie, that did, but it's okay. It's all for the greater good, right?"

As hundreds of bullets darted past them, she tried to find Cook a path to safety.

"There's no way he could maneuver himself through this. There was rubbish everywhere," she said.

"You know, beer cans and trash, all sort of stuff was on the ground but we were able to push through that," Cook recalled.

George Cook CBS News

Loy, an ICU nurse at Las Vegas Sunrise Hospital, suffered only a sprained ankle. But some wounds run deeper.

"At night when you're sleeping, you just can't get the gunshots out of your head," Cook said.

"My daughter, she saw a man die," Loy said. 

Back home in San Francisco with his 11-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son, Cook says the selfless act was "heaven sent."

"I'm a single dad with two kids at home so it was real important that I'm alive. Maybe that's why this happened. Maybe that's why this person was sent to save me, to be there for the kids," Cook said.

The two have exchanged phone numbers and plan to keep in touch.

f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.