The survivor, who identified herself as Shally, was dancing with her longtime friend and dance partner when the gunman walked in the Star Ballroom Dance Studio and opened fire.
She said she grabbed her dance partner and hid under a table. Her 62-year-old friend, whom she doesn't want to identify, was shot in the back and saved her during the shooting.
When the gunman left, she tried waking her dance partner up but she realized he had been shot.
Shally says she thought the terror was over after the first round of gunfire but she says the suspect went out and reloaded his weapon.
When the shooting finally stopped, two of her friends were dead and several others shot. The images and sounds are forever seared in her memory.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said five women and five men are among the deceased victims. He did not have the exact ages of the victims but said they all appeared to be over 50. Seven of the wounded people remained in the hospital, he said.