Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer was in Las Vegas for a conference when Sunday's shooting happened, killing 59 people and wounding more than 500.
Troyer, who may be familiar to people in Western Washington for his years of service as the department's public information officer, says he was at the REO Speedwagon concert in a separate area. He was headed back to his hotel when he encountered the aftermath of the shooting.
"Masses of other people were coming the other direction, obviously fleeing the shooting. Fleeing. Had some injuries and people were separated, lost loved ones, and a lot of tears, and it was something that I hope to never see again in my entire life," Troyer said.
Troyer said it was clear first responders had been trained for such a scenario.
"We had medics and bulletproof vests and Kevlar helmets and secured vehicles. Many, many ambulances showed up. It was very coordinated. And the citizens and the concertgoers and probably tourists all helped and got involved, so it was a really, really good side of humanity to see when somebody demonstrated the worst of humanity," Troyer said.
Troyer said in this scenario, law enforcement doesn't want people jumping in, so he guarded a police patrol car while officers rushed to the scene.
