Nick Robone didn’t know what was happening.

In fact, according to him, nobody knew what was really going on.

“It sounded like a blown speaker or firecrackers or something like that,” Robone said.

Then, Robone felt it. A pain unlike any the former roller hockey star and current assistant hockey coach had felt before. He described it like being hit with a sledgehammer. It was then, as he started to cough up blood, that he began to realize what was really happening.

Robone, along hundreds of others at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, were being shot.

Vegas through and through

Nick Robone has known no other home besides Las Vegas.

He was born and raised in Sin City, attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and even worked for the Las Vegas ice center as a marketing coordinator before taking his current gig as the assistant coach for his alma mater’s men’s ice hockey team.

“Las Vegas is a great city,” Robone said. “It’s like any other city, minus that seven-mile stretch of the strip. We had everything here growing up: mountains, lakes, movie theaters, all that good stuff.”

Something that Las Vegas doesn’t have much of, however, are hockey rinks. Growing up in a city located in the desert, Robone said that his opportunities to play organized ice hockey growing up were limited. Still, he was able to develop a love for the sport by playing pickup street hockey games with his friends.

From there, one thing lead to another, and soon Robone was playing on travel ice hockey teams and roller hockey teams throughout his childhood. While Robone was a good player, he wasn’t sure upon his enrollment at UNLV if ice hockey would be something he wanted to pursue, given the amount of time that the sport would require him to dedicate.

“The commitment level for [ice hockey] I knew was going to be pretty heavy, and I was working full-time at the moment,” Robone said. “I wanted to just enjoy the sport a little bit without having to have as much of a time commitment.”

This led Robone to join the school’s roller hockey team, where he excelled in a dual role as both a player and coach at the same time for the team. In fact, Robone was so good that he was named a third-team All-American in 2011-12, and helped lead his team to three consecutive National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association final fours and a national championship appearance during his tenure as a player-coach.

When his playing days at UNLV ultimately came to an end, Robone knew that he wanted to stick with coaching. After graduation, he got an opportunity make the move back to ice hockey, where he joined the coaching staff of the Nevada Storm organization’s Midget AA and AAA team.

After spending a couple of years with the team, Robone was approached by Arturo Castro, the current president of UNLV hockey, with an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“(Castro) reached out to myself, Anthony Greener and Zee Khan about formulating a coaching staff and front office type, with Zee being the [general manager],” Robone said. “I loved the way it sounded. I wanted to be part of my alma mater, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity for that.”

When the three arrived in 2015, the Skatin’ Rebels were a struggling Division III team in the middle of the desert. However, under their direction, UNLV has quickly ascended up the ranks of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, to the point where the team is now currently ranked in the top 15 at the ACHA’s Division I level.  

The team has risen through the ranks so fast, in fact, that there’s even talk of UNLV moving up to the NCAA’s Division I level in the near future, which has only helped with recruiting. Add in the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights’ arrival on top of all that, and Robone believes that the future of hockey in Las Vegas has never looked brighter.

The night of the shooting

The tickets were a birthday present from his parents.

Although he hadn’t been to too many music festivals in his lifetime, Robone had always enjoyed country music. His brother Anthony did too, and with the two not having seen each other in awhile, they decided to use the tickets as a chance to hang out with each other and some friends. 

“I thought this would be a good opportunity to get out and enjoy something a little bit different,” Robone said of the tickets. “It seemed like a fun time.” 

On this particular night of the festival, Robone wasn’t in any hurry to get to the grounds. He had been there on Friday and Saturday as well, so he used Sunday as a day to relax and unwind before going to the Jason Aldean concert. He even played in a hockey game right before coming to the festival.

“I actually showed up a little later than most people,” Robone said. 

Once Robone got to the concert, everything was as normal. He and his group, located on a large plot of fake grass at the venue, were relaxing with a good view of one of the biggest stars in country music. Everyone was having a good time, much like they had on the two previous nights.

And then, the firecracker noise.

The sledgehammer-like pain.

The coughed-up blood.

That’s when Robone knew that it was real. That they were being shot.  

That he had been hit.

He and his group ran to get out of the venue as fast as possible.

Amid all the chaos and scattering, Robone had to remind himself not to panic. He knew that would only make it worse.

He didn’t know exactly where the bullet hit him, but he kept reminding himself to breathe. Breathe, and that he would be okay. After all, Robone had his brother Anthony, a firefighter, and his friend Billy Tufano, who works for a medical care company, to help take care of him and make sure that he got the help that he needed.

“[Anthony Robone and Billy Tufano] were calm, they knew what to do and they handled that situation amazing,” Robone said. “They deserve all the credit. Not even just them, all the first responders there, all the people there. 

“There were a lot of acts of heroism that night, whether people were wearing a badge or not.”

With Anthony Robone patching up Nick Robone and Nick Robone being in relatively good shape compared to others who’d been wounded, Nick Robone told his brother that he’d be fine and to go help anyone else that needed it. With his brother and friends okay, Nick Robone jumped on the second ambulance that came around and went to the hospital.

Even when he was on the way to the hospital, spitting up blood, Nick Robone never had the sense that the worst was going to happen. He couldn’t explain why, but he kept telling himself throughout the entire ordeal to be positive. That he was going to be fine regardless of what happened.  

To breathe.

When Nick Robone finally arrived at the hospital, things were chaotic. He was unable to be transported from the ambulance to a room inside of the hospital due to a shortage of beds, so Robone had to walk on his own power to get there. Once inside, however, hospital staff were quickly able to find a bed for him so that he could be properly examined.

“I was fortunate to get to the hospital at the right time,” Nick Robone said.

The diagnosis was ultimately a gunshot wound to the chest, which resulted in a badly bruised lung. Thankfully, although the lung was bruised, the bullet missed it. He would have to spend a few days in the ICU and in the hospital, but he was going to live.   

Live, and make a full recovery.

#RoboneStrong and #VegasStrong

His brother never left his side.

“Literally, he slept at the hospital every night,” Robone said.

That kind of support didn’t surprise him. Robone’s family has always been very supportive of him, and there to help whenever he’s needed it. He knew this time it’d be no different.  

He expected it.

What he didn’t expect was the outpouring of support that he’s received from outside the family. Particularly, the support he’s gotten from the hockey community, Las Vegas and beyond. 

At last check, a GoFundMe page that was set up for Robone by family friend Joshua Anselmo has raised over $67,000 to help pay for expenses related to his injuries. Additionally, the UNLV hockey team has also been selling t-shirts with the hashtags #RoboneStrong and #VegasStrong written on them, again with all proceeds being donated to help fund Nick Robone’s recovery. 

On top of that, many people from around the game of hockey have reached out on social media to offer their support. From Vegas hockey players and residents, to other ACHA teams and media personalities, to even NHL players (such as childhood friend Jason Zucker) and the Vegas Golden Knights organization have joined in offering their support of Robone with the #RoboneStrong hashtag.

“For me, I understand how small the hockey community is here in Vegas and just in general, but I also understand how powerful it is and how willing it is to help,” Robone said. “I can’t thank those people enough, whether they’re here in Las Vegas or across the country, or even across the world. 

“The outreach to me has been unbelievable, whether it be John Buccigross or anybody else. Even if it’s just a mite player from Boston who donated me ten dollars, I’m at a loss for words when it comes to that stuff and I’ll be forever indebted to these people,” Robone said.   

The hockey community back here in Ames, Iowa is no different, and Iowa State players and coaches are making plans to show their support for both Robone and Las Vegas when the two teams meet this homecoming weekend.  Throughout the series, Cyclone hockey will be accepting donations from the public, with proceeds going directly to Robone to help with his road to recovery.  

While the actual games will no doubt be hard fought battles between two top 15 teams, Cyclone captain Kody Reuter says that the team knows what’s ultimately important and that the UNLV players will be in their thoughts, regardless of what happens on the ice.

“Obviously we want to make them feel like they’re at home, our prayers are with them,” Reuter said. “The hockey community is a very close group, and we hope everyone on their team is okay and that [Robone] is okay.” 

Cyclone Hockey head coach Jason Fairman also added that the team is planning on honoring the victims of the shooting during the series this weekend. While he hasn’t reached out to Robone personally and didn’t get into specifics on what would be done, Fairman said he wanted to show his solidarity and support in what he thought would be a more appropriate setting. 

“We’ll recognize that by doing an event this weekend, so that’s our way that we can help,” Fairman said. 

Robone is excited for this weekend’s matchup between the two teams. While he won’t be able make the trip to Ames due to restrictions related to his recovery, he mentions that he’s still in contact nearly every day with head coach Anthony Greener and that he’ll be offering pieces of advice to his team and coaching staff based on what he sees on film.

He also sees the Cyclones as a great measuring stick for his Rebels team, who’s hot start to the season has hockey fans in Vegas buzzing. This, along with the Vegas Golden Knights excellent beginning to their first year of existence, has really given the city of Las Vegas something to rally around, said Robone.

“It’s perfect,” Robone said. “I think it’s exactly what the city needed.  Between our games and the Golden Knights’ games, it provides almost a little bit of a break from all the chaos. It gives people something to cheer for.”

Robone described his team’s matchup against the Cyclones, “they have an unbelievable program there. They always do a great job. I know that’s it’s a very tough place to play, and think it’s going to be one that we’re really excited for.”

Sharing his story and giving back

It’s hard for Robone to relive that night.

But he knows how necessary it is for him to do so, because although he’ll be fully recovered physically in a matter of weeks, he knows that the mental recovery process will take much longer.

“I want to be able to do it, and I’ve done it enough now to where it’s something of a pride thing for me,” Robone said. “I take pride in being able to tell [my story], and I’m also very fortunate to be alive so for me it’s like one of those things where I feel like I have to, whether I’m comfortable with it or not.”

Indeed, Robone has been interviewed by multiple media outlets, local and national, since the shooting occurred earlier this month. Each time he’s willfully shared everything he experienced, completely open about what happened on that night. He doesn’t like the attention, but he does the interviews anyway with the hope that he can inspire others to share their stories and openly talk about their experiences as well.

“These tragedies like this, whether it be this or a natural disaster or whatever it may be, people take them very hard,” Robone said. “I think that everybody should talk about it. I think it’s important they talk to professionals about it. Mental health is crucial.”

Robone added, “I’ve seen people deteriorate from it and I’d hate to see that now. So for me, I want to get a positive story out there, be able to help as much as I can and encourage people to go out there and get help if needed.”

Robone emphasized that point consistently, saying if there’s one thing he wants people to take away from everything related to this whole incident, it’s to talk about what happened and get help if they need it.

Before he even left the hospital, Robone was talking about it. During his time in the ICU, Rebone formed close bonds with other families and spoke at length with them about what took place that night.  

Now that he’s out, Robone plans on reaching out to other survivors of the shooting in the near future to talk about their experiences. He’s also taken to social media, talking with people who’ve contacted him one by one, knowing that even the smallest gesture of kindness can help someone.

Adding on to that, Robone plans on using this experience as a chance to give back to the community in his native home of Las Vegas in the future. He said that he’s been inspired with the way that his home city has come together during this tragedy, and that he doesn’t expect anything less from the city’s residents.

“We have amazing people here, hard-working people here and I want to be part of it,” Robone said. “I’m really excited to heal up and eventually get back out there and give back to all of the people who’ve done an amazing job at helping to mend this community.”

Robone doesn’t know exactly what he wants to do yet, but he knows that whatever he does, it’ll all start with helping children. He’s a big believer in doing the small things right, so Robone hopes that smaller acts of charity, such as holding youth hockey camps, could eventually turn into something bigger. Maybe even starting his own foundation one day.  

Finally, Robone also encourages others to give back as well if they’re able to, adding that if anyone reading wants to help that he recommends donating to the GoFundMe page of Steve Sisolak, the Clark County Commission Chair from Las Vegas. As of right now, the page has over $10.8 million donated, with proceeds going toward relief and support for victims and their families. Even if one can’t donate financially, Robone said there are other ways that people can help out.

“There are things that you can do on social media,” Robone said. “Reaching out to some of the people that were injured, I mean there’s lists beyond lists, and those people I know for a fact when they reached out to me, it made me feel really good.”

Robone even recommends things like writing letters to a hospital or an elementary school to help. They aren’t the biggest gestures in the world, Robone knows, but they’re the kind of actions that can help heal during even the most trying of times. Like he said, he’s big a believer in the little things.

“Those type of things, even though they’re so small, they make an impact,” Robone said.