Wilmington Woman Who Survived Las Vegas Shooting Finds Her Hero On Facebook

WILMINGTON, MA — A group of friends from Wilmington is back home after escaping harm during Sunday night's mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas. One of them is crediting social media with helping her reconnect with the man she says saved her life.

As shots rang out, a man pushed Wilmington resident Barbara Langone to the ground and stayed on top of her to protect her from the gunfire. In the chaos that followed, Langone wasn't able to find the man to thank him, so she posted a plea on Facebook with the hope of connecting.

On Tuesday, the two were finally able to connect. "I'll be forever grateful to him," she wrote:

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According to NECN, Langone attended the concert with a group of friends from the area. Her friend Michael Stuart, 49, of Wilmington, told the news station most of what happened after the shooting started was "a blur," but he does recall being pulled to safety by a group of strangers who took him into their hotel room.

"Everyone was just looking out for the best of everybody," Stuart said. "In a horrible situation, it was good to see the humanity and people helping each other out."

The Victims Of The Las Vegas Shooting

Meanwhile, 10 other area women who were on a girls' weekend in Las Vegas and attended the festival also made it home safely Tuesday morning. None of them were injured in what was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, according to the Lowell Sun.

Nicole MacArthur, of Billerica, her two sisters, a cousin and seven friends arrived in Las Vegas last Thursday. Among the travelers with MacArthur, the newspaper said, were her sisters, Jennifer Navaria of Haverhill, and Michele Murray of Tewksbury, her cousin, Danielle Riley of Andover, Michelle Merrick of Dracut, Jaylene Ashdown of Wilmington, Cindy Johnstone of Billerica and Gretchen Beherell, of Andover.

"I get spurts of grief, but then I think, I'm so lucky," MacArthur told the newspaper. "We're so lucky that we still have all of each other."

The lone Massachusetts woman among the 59 who were killed in the attack was Rhonda LeRocque, 41, of Tewksbury. Several fundraisers have been planned to support LeRocque's husband, Jason, and their six-year-old daughter.

Photo from Barbara Langone

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).