Victims of Vancouver mall shooting break silence and express gratitude

Daniel Martin was just trying to take his children out trick or treating at the Vancouver Mall.

READ MORE | Vancouver police arrest suspect in deadly Halloween mall shooting

“After about 40 minutes of trick-or-treating, we went to the food court. After having, like, a single bite of the burrito, I heard like four pops, and in my head I’m like, that can’t be a gun,” said Daniel Martin, a survivor of the Halloween night shooting. “And then I feel something hit my foot, and it was, like, immediate, okay, yeah, no, this is a gun. There’s a shooter behind me. I was sitting next to my five-year-old, so I just grabbed her and dove behind a dumpster.”

According to Vancouver Police, the shooter was wearing a Halloween mask.

“I had seen him for a split second, and he was just unloading the rest of his magazine into the body on the ground,” said Martin.

Vancouver Police say the shooter was specifically targeting the person he killed. As Daniel’s children sobbed, they noticed his foot was bleeding. It turned out he had a bullet lodged in it.

“I’m just like, you girls are so brave. I’m so proud of you, because I’m just trying to keep them focused on me, and I’m also at any moment, the shooter could just come around the corner, and it would be over,” said Martin.

Brandon Leyrer is the children’s step father. He heroically rescued Daniel’s three-year-old, then he went to find his girlfriend, who is also the children’s mother, just to find out he too was collateral damage.

“By the time I got over there, she put me down on the ground and tell her that I was hit in my ribs, just below my ribs,” said Leyrer.

Two good samaritans stepped in to help stop the bleeding. “He came over and took a shirt off, helped hold compression down on my gunshot wound on my ribs and I forget your name, I think it’s Elijah but I want to say thank you truly for being there for me and I hope to meet you one day,” said Leyrer.

READ MORE | Deadly Vancouver Mall shooting was targeted attack, suspect wore Halloween mask: police

“I don’t know who gave me their belt to use as a tourniquet but whoever did thank you for that,” said Martin.

The family is inundated with medical fees and they want to send the kids to therapy. A GoFundMe link has been established to help the family.