Tennessee Man Sacrifices His Life to Save Wife in Vegas Shooting
Sunday's mass shooting in Las Vegas, which is now identified as the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, was filled with tragic moments -- but one of the evening's most heartrending stories was that of a 29-year-old Tennessee man who saved his wife’s life before he was killed.
Sonny Melton, a registered nurse from Big Sandy, was attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival with his wife, Dr. Heather Gulish Melton, when both were caught in the shooting. Heather spoke with the radio station WZTV, describing her husband's heroic actions.
“He grabbed me and started running when I felt him get shot in the back," she recalls. "I want everyone to know what a kind-hearted, loving man he was, but at this point, I can barely breathe.”
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“At this point, I’m in complete disbelief and despair,” she continues. “I don’t know what to say. Sonny was the most kind-hearted, loving man I have ever met. He saved my life and lost his.”
Melton worked as a nurse at Henry County Medical Center in Paris, Tenn., according to his Facebook account.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam expressed his condolences to the family in a statement.
"I am praying for the many people affected by the senseless act of violence in Las Vegas. In particular, Crissy and I extend our condolences and prayers to the family of Sonny Melton, from West Tennessee, who was among those killed in this tragedy," he says.
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