AN AMERICAN police officer who was shot twice during a deadly gun attack is looking forward to thanking a ‘kind’ Warwickshire firefighter in person.
Tony Dumbleton and wife Lucy were on a ‘dream holiday’ to Las Vegas and were staying in the MGM hotel when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire at a country music festival.
The massacre in October 2017 was the deadliest lone gun attack in US history, killing 59 people and injuring more than 500.
Unaware of the drama unfolding just minutes down the road, Lucy went to bed and dad-of-three Tony decided to take a walk outside the hotel, where he was met by people fleeing the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
One of those was off-duty deputy sheriff Andrew Dahring, who had been shot twice in the shoulder, narrowly missing his lung.
Tony sprung into action and helped Andrew – along with other injured who came into the hotel seeking treatment and shelter – and to this day had wondered about whether the dad from Los Angeles survived.
But the pair were recently reunited over the phone, and are now trying to arrange meeting in person.
And Tony, who has undergone counselling for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which left him suffering flashbacks, hypersensitivity and nightmares, said talking to Andrew has helped him.
He said:”I was trying to accept I may never know what happened to Andrew but speaking to him has definitely helped.
“It’s connected me with someone who has been through the same experience.
“We have talked about me flying over to see him or him coming over to Warwickshire and us going to see a football match.”
Andrew said he was in the crowd at the concert when he was hit by the bullet, and he shielded his wife Nancy by covering her body with his own.
The pair ran around half a mile with a jumper wrapped around Andrew’s bloodied shoulder.
Andrew said some people even ignored his pleas for help, with one driver even rolling up his window and driving off and another getting their camera out to film the pair.
But they then saw the Warwickshire firefighter of 19 years and said he immediately rushed over to them.
He said: “Tony came out of the glass doors and was the first one to offer us help.
“No one knew what was happening, people were coming in with bullet holes and wounds. It was very chaotic. It’s difficult to comprehend.
“My wife said she wanted to thank Tony for his kindness and wanting to help those who were hurt and scared. He should be so proud of himself.”
