In 2017, Chantal Melanson was at a fun night out at the Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival, listening to some great music – when everything changed.
Little did she know that she would be caught in the midst of a mass shooting and live to tell the tale, all thanks to her now-husband, the man who saved her life.
Chantal’s decision to attend the festival made at the last minute, after a friend called her with a spare ticket. She booked a flight on a whim from Alberta, Canada to Las Vegas for the three-day event.
Only one night prior to the tragedy, Chantal was enjoying herself with her friends, dancing to the music at Gilley’s, a famous country music bar. That’s when a man approached her to say hello. He introduced himself as Austin Monfort. He had come to the event to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
At first, the two didn’t connect. But as the night wore on, they chatted more and danced together…inevitably, a spark developed.
It just felt like we knew each other forever. We went to grab a bite after the bar and exchanged numbers.
CHANTAL MELANSON TO METRO UK
As it turns out, Austin ended up being more than a transitory flame. He ended up changing her life forever. But it wouldn’t happen until the next night of the festival.
Austin saved her life
The next day, Chantal headed to the festival early and reached out to Austin about meeting up. They were still there just after 10pm, when Stephen Paddock, the shooter, opened fire on the crowd from his suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
“We thought it was fireworks at the beginning since all big concerts usually have some kind of fireworks, however when it wasn’t stopping, everyone dropped to the ground”, Chantal told Metro.
We were on the ground across from each other so we both were looking at each other. We stayed on the ground for a while and the shots were not stopping.
CHANTAL MELANSON
Everyone tried to run to safety as the bullets rained from above. It was total chaos and panic. However, Austin and Chantal didn’t leave each other. Austin held onto her tightly as he guided her out.
Everyone ran in different directions, but Austin stayed with me and we ran together. We ran across the entire festival grounds stopping a few times to get shelter.
CHANTAL MELANSON
Chantal, Austin and their friends escaped unharmed, unlike the many who tragically lost their lives. But even though they managed to reach safety, they wanted to help out others.
“We were about to leave, when another lady was running towards us holding her leg and stomach – she had been shot. We were all strangers at that point but tried to help one another and rush to the hospital.”
He never left her side
Once Chantal and Austin reached the hospital, they were kept there overnight due to an emergency lockdown. That’s when their bond solidified.
Austin never left my side. He held me throughout the night and kept me safe. After what we had just gone through, he was my safe place.
CHANTAL MELANSON
The afternoon after the shooting Austin flew home to California but Chantal’s flight was the following day. Once they were back home, they continued to FaceTime every day and quickly fell in love.
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