Illinois State Sen. Dave Syverson was in Las Vegas at the time of the mass shooting there. He gave WNIJ his impressions of the situation.
The Rockford Republican said he was having dinner with friends when news of the shooting came. He said it took a while before the scale of it was known but, as he watched from the sidelines, he was impressed with the response.
“You can imagine moving tens of thousands of people,” he said, “not only out of the concert but to clear out of the hotel the size of Mandalay Bay, and to do those searches.
"To have it done that quick and that well-organized, I think, says something about our law enforcement people today and how they work much better with their partners than they used to in the past.”
Syverson said police officers were out on street corners to give assurance to the people that they were safe.
Syverson said he also was heartened by the community’s response, and what it says about Americans when tragedy strikes.
“Literally thousands of people showed up to give blood and to help,” he said, “and to overwhelming support for both law enforcement and the families. I think people should have assurance that we may fight and disagree on issues, but we’ll rally behind family; and that’s the greatness of our country and our community.”
Syverson said first responders in northern Illinois also train together for emergencies like that in Las Vegas. He thinks people in the area should feel confident about how local agencies would deal with such a crisis.
