In the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting, many of the 500+ innocent civilians who were injured are making a recovery in local hospitals.
President Donald Trump, along with the First Lady, did the rounds with the heroic medical staff yesterday and met a young survivor of the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, Thomas Gunderson, who was shot in the leg.
You can watch Gunderson bravely stand to meet Donald Trump in the clip below:
Captioning the video, Thomas wrote:
I will never lie down when the President of this great country comes to shake my hand!
There may be plenty of issues in this country but I will always respect my country, my president and my flag.
Shot in the leg or not, I will stand to show my President the respect he deserves!
Melania Trump enters the room first and asks Thomas to remain lying down – the young man suffered a gunshot wound to the leg when he was running towards the Mandalay Bay hotel to help the injured.
Moments later, upon entering the room, Trump can be heard saying, ‘This guy looks tough to me’ before thanking Gunderson, asking after his health and pointing to his wounded leg.
The video was uploaded 15 hours ago and has since been viewed 11 million times, at the time of writing.
Speaking of his upload, Thomas later posted an uplifting explanation:
So when I decided to post the things that I did, as well as accept some interviews, I did so with the intention of spreading an uplifting message during this horrific time in our country.
I prepared my family beforehand knowing that there would be plenty of backlash and hateful comments.
I asked for everyone to leave the negativity out of it but let’s be honest, I knew that wouldn’t happen. SO, with that being said, I’m asking that anytime someone does leave a hateful or aggressive comment that we simply ignore them.
They want to get a rise out of us.
Thomas concluded:
They want to cause divide and when we respond with hate as well, it simply worsens the situation and destroys the meaning behind this message.
I will do my best to respond to the ones I can with complete class and love.
Let’s continue to bring our nation together instead of fight with those simply looking to fight.
I’m asking that as a favor for everyone reading my posts. Thank you so much for the love and I love all of you!!!
Thomas’ story of bravery is just one of many which have been told in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy, including the brave off-duty soldiers who protected strangers, and the dad-of-three who ferried people to safety.
At 10:30pm on Sunday, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on the 22,000-strong crowd enjoying Route 91 Harvest music festival, killing 59 and injuring over 500.
Jimmy Kimmel perfectly embodied the outpouring of grief felt nationwide:
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An FBI investigation continues, as Paddock’s motives are as-of-yet unknown.
Meanwhile details of his action leading up to the atrocity have been released, including his arsenal of weapons and his hotel receipts.
Our thoughts are with all affected at this devastating time.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.