Camarillo mother remembers hero son killed in Las Vegas mass shooting
CAMARILLO, Calif. (KABC) -- Just days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Las Vegas mass shooting, a Camarillo woman remembered her son, who was killed while saving the life of a friend that tragic day.
Maryanne Hazencomb lost her only child, Christopher, when gunfire erupted at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Christopher was at the concert with a friend.
Maryanne said she remembers getting ready for bed and looking up at the T.V. and seeing news of the shooting, then, a devastating phone call from one of her son's friends.
"Chris has been shot in the head in Vegas,'" Maryanne recalled hearing over the phone.
Close friends drove Maryanne through the night to be with her son.
"We discussed, you know, Chris' life and what he had done, and we could be proud of him. What we done was just mainly relaxing, hoping and praying that we get there in time before he went," Maryanne said as she held back tears. "We were lucky we got there. He didn't until, like I said, I pulled him off the life support. And that was the hardest thing I had to do. You don't want to bury your child...before you."
Christopher worked at a neighborhood market near their Camarillo home. He loved sports and country music. He was a big man: 6 feet 5 inches tall. His mother would say he had a heart to match.
"He liked people. He was really a people person, and he'll help you and give you the shirt off his back. That's what kind of person he was," Maryanne said.
In her home, Maryanne put up remembrances of her son. She's even hung up Christopher's favorite hat -- it was the hat he was wearing the night of the concert
She said one thing that gives her comfort is how her son's character showed through that night. She said when Christopher heard the shots fired, he pushed his friend Nikki to the ground and shielded her from the gunfire. He saved her life.
"He saved Nikki so she can raise those two boys, and I told her, 'Don't you ever feel sorry. He did it so you can raise those boys. So you and Thomas would have your family,'" Maryanne said.
Maryanne plans on being in Las Vegas for the anniversary. She wants to be there with the other families and first responders.
"We're a special group of people that are always going to be bonded by this," she said. "No matter what happens to the rest of the world, we'll be known as the 58 angels from Vegas."
PHOTOS: These are the victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting
