UNLV employee reacts to body camera footage of police’s response to campus shooting
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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man who was on UNLV’s campus when a gunman opened fire reacted to newly released body camera footage of police response.
“I was really nervous,” Wesley Knight said Wednesday. “And really scared of what could happen.”
Knight described the day he’ll never forget to NewsNation affiliate KLAS. As a member of the staff at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he shared where he was on campus the day of the shooting that killed three professors and hurt one other.
“My first time being in a situation like that,” Knight said. “So I wasn’t sure what to do.”
Newly released body camera footage shows the moment Las Vegas Metropolitan police arrived to find the gunman shot and killed by University police on December 6.
Knight, who told 8 News Now he was in the building next door to BEAM Hall, where the shooting happened, was one of many who had to shelter in place as authorities checked for any further threats.
“They said, ‘Put your hands up,'” Knight recalled of the police response.
He went on to share that he was escorted out of the building and had to follow specific safety instructions relayed by responding officers.
“Had to walk out like this,” Knight recalled, holding his hands up in the air. “You know, and walk from person to person to person.”
He remembered all this happening as alarms blared and police guns stayed drawn.
Watching the body cam footage back, Knight relived the pure panic he felt at the moment.
“Just that general fear and confusion of what’s happening,” he explained. “Like when will I be safe, will I be safe?”
However, he told 8 News Now he is grateful for the quick response and efforts by officers to make sure he and everyone else made it through that day.
“I was safer than I thought in the moment,” Knight concluded. “But when everything is happening you just don’t know.”
Knight told 8 News Now he is one of the few employees still working on campus, as he said buildings on campus are locked for winter break unless you have a key card with specific access.