Leo Ku hid under a table during Las Vegas shooting

Hong Kong singer Leo Ku and his wife Lorraine Chan were in the vicinity of Las Vegas during what has been described as the worst mass shooting in US history, with a death toll of at least 59 and more than 500 people injured.

At about 10pm on Sunday night (Oct 1), a 64-year-old local resident opened fire on more than 22,000 people at an outdoor music festival from a room in the Mandalay Bay Resort casino on the 32nd floor.

Leo and Lorraine were at the Bellagio hotel, located 2.6 kilometers away from the shooting, when they heard the sound of gunfire followed by a large crowd seeking refuge in the hotel.

The couple were lost amidst the chaos and hid under a gambling table with their friends. They later moved to a stairway at the back of the building for shelter as the Bellagio had suspended all lifts and headed to a higher floor of the hotel to seek safety, together with a South Korean family.

“I was holding my wife in my arms under the table, having no idea on what I could do, where the shooting was exactly occurring, and what would happen next,” he recounted.

Leo Ku and his wife Lorraine.

The couple could only stay in the hallway of the Bellagio and were not allowed to return to their own hotel despite it being close by, as all Las Vegas hotels went into lockdown and stayed this way till late into the night.

The 45-year-old gave fans a peace of mind as he announced his safety on Weibo this morning at 6am. He added on in a separate post that he only returned to his hotel at 5am this morning, when the lockdown was lifted after six hours.

“I would like to thank Jenthew, Jason and the hotel patrons who aided us in this time of chaos. I would also like to thank the South Korean family who brought us to a safer area at the top of the Bellagio, as well as its staff who helped by providing water and towels in the hours after the attack. Last but not least, I would like to fellow travellers John and his wife for allowing us to borrow their portable chargers when our phones were running out of battery,” he wrote.

Leo added that he could not sleep even in the safety of his own room and was still “very nervous” during the walk back to the hotel, even after the shooting ceased.

As the Las Vegas airport was closed and flights were temporarily halted on Sunday night, the couple were unsure of when they could return to Hong Kong. However, it has since partially opened, with “limited flight activity.”

Leo had recently wrapped up his ‘We’ concert tour in San Francisco on Sep 30 and was in the Nevada city with Lorraine to re-visit old places as well as relive memories from their marriage in 2014.

Photo: PBE Media

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