Pregnant Woman, Boyfriend From North Jersey Survive Las Vegas Mass Shooting

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A North Haledon man and his pregnant girlfriend just ran when they discovered they were in the middle of the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.

Fifty-nine people were killed and 527 injured after Stephen Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas Sunday night. His targets were the people attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival across the Las Vegas Strip. At least two other people from New Jersey were in the crowd when the shooting occurred.

Valdo Panzera Jr. and his girlfriend Megan Iannuzzi were two of them.

"We were sitting ducks. The only accessible exits to us were going toward the shooter and the strip, which is where everyone was running away from," said Panzera Jr., a Paramus Catholic alumnus, who found out last week that Iannuzzi is pregnant. "I was in the mode of thinking we have to go. I was thinking, let's go up to a top floor of a hotel but that wasn't an option because people were running everywhere. Girls were jumping over fences. It was crazy."

Also See: The Victims Of The Las Vegas Shooting

The pair made their way to a Motel 6 where 100 people were in the bathroom and hallway. Some were bleeding, crying and throwing up.

A girl who was shot multiple times was brought in, Panzera said, pausing to collect himself after part of his story.

Panzera put on the Las Vegas Metro Police Department channel app on his smartphone. He wanted to know what was going on.

"As we were hunkered down, I just thought there were a bunch of guys with machine guns just mowing people down," Panzera said. "That's what I thought."

Iannuzzi is from Fair Lawn originally, but had trouble finding a job in New Jersey. She moved out to Las Vegas to get some teaching experience. She lives a half hour off of the Las Vegas Boulevard.

A lady picked the pair up and brought them to Iannuzzi's home.

Panzera, a part-time dispatcher with the North Haledon Police Department, said Iannuzzi will be moving back home soon.

"She doesn't feel safe out here," Panzera said. "She should be back home with her family."

Panzera said he can still hear the commotion from Sunday. He can still hear the shots ring out.

"It was surreal. It feels even worse thinking back about it," Panzera said. "It gives you chills. It was mind blowing. You hear them over and over in your head, the gunshots."

Stories have emerged of two other people from New Jersey who were at the concert:

• Andrew Kampe, an Edison native, was among the more than 500 injured, according to media reports. Kampe was attending the concert with his girlfriend, Allison Crute, when a gunman opened fire. They were near the stage when shoots began to rang out. Kampe reportedly laid on top of Crute to shield her. Kampe's arm was struck by shrapnel and he will not need surgery.
• Jenna DeCandio, who lives in Jamesburg, was at the concert Sunday night with her parents. Jenna was shot in the hip/pelvic area, and she underwent surgery Monday at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, the hospital closest to the Las Vegas strip that has treated many of the wounded. According to many family and friends wishing her well on Facebook, the surgery went well and Jenna is expected to make a full recovery.

RELATED: Las Vegas Massacre: New Jersey Connections Emerge In Deadliest Shooting in U.S. History

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Photo: Valdo Panzera Jr. and his girlfriend Megan Iannuzzi/Courtesy of Valdo Panzero Jr.