LA County sheriff's couple say training helped them survive Las Vegas attack

FULLERTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Todd Kammer and his wife Deputy Lori Kammer ran from the gunfire in Las Vegas during a country concert and were unaware that it was coming from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel.

"All hell broke loose and it was just a rain of bullets came down and now you see people turning and running," Todd said.

Lori was shot as they tried to escape the chaos.

"When I was either going to the ground or when I was on the ground that's when I got shot and I felt it in my left hip area," she said.

That's when their training from the sheriff's department kicked in. Lori continued to run, the drive to live overpowering her pain.

"They always tell you if you get shot, think about your family. You want to go home, fight as hard as you can, and that's what I did. I fought through it," Lori said.

Todd said they could hear the bullets flying past them and saw people getting hit by the gunfire. They kept going until Lori had to be carried. Todd told her it wasn't her time and she wasn't going to die.

"That 'don't give up' attitude is instilled in us at a very early time in training, basically in the academy, and it really kicked in this time," Todd said.

The bullet shattered Lori's pelvis, took part of her colon and intestine and it lodged next to her appendix. She is now at St. Jude Medical Center Hospital for intense rehabilitation.

"The way I think about is I'm just grateful to be alive. I'm grateful to be going home to my family," she said.

While she recovers, Lori holds onto a handmade quilt that features a photo of her celebrating her friend's birthday at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. It was taken 20 minutes before the shooting and is a good memory to hold onto from that night.