Pinoy taxi driver helped victims of Las Vegas shooting

Not all heroes wear capes. Some of them drive cabs.

Wenifredo ‘Winnie’ Maquindang is a man well-loved by friends and family. He’s known to throw parties and lend money to the needy in his hometown of Loboc, Bohol. But on the fateful night of October 1, 2017 he wasn’t surrounded by palm trees and sunshine. Instead, he was on the glitzy streets of Las Vegas, Nevada where he works as a taxi driver.

That was the night terror struck Sin City, when retiree and gambler Stephen Paddock carried out his meticulously planned attack on the concertgoers of the Route 91 Harvest music festival. From his 32nd floor suite at the Mandalay Bay hotel, he unloaded an array of high-powered rifles onto a crowd of over 22,000. Paddock ended up killing 58 people and injured 546 others before respondents stormed his room to find him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Winnie was right on the scene during the shooting:

“He recalled that as he parked his taxi to wait for passengers near Mandalay Bay Resort and Hotel, he heard firing which he first thought was fireworks. Then he realized it wasn’t, rather gunfire from the hotel mowing down the concert crowd,” reported The Philippine Star.

“He said he went to the crowd and realized that he was among the few who remained standing as even police officers took cover while the shooting was going on. Later, people started to approach his taxi for a ride.”

Winnie didn’t hesitate, and loaded his cab with injured victims. He drove them to the nearest hospital, running red lights along the way. His courageous act saved six lives.

While the shooter’s motive remains unknown to this day, what we know for sure is that Winnie is a hero, and that those he saved will be forever grateful for the risk he took.

via Philippine News Agency / Ben Cal