"Miraculously Alive": Shooting Survivors Share Horrifying Reno Casino Morning

Tragic Morning at Reno Casino Leaves Survivors with Lasting Memories

It was just before 7:30 a.m. in Reno when a shooter entered the valet area of the Grand Sierra Resort and began firing gunshots at people gathered there. The incident left three individuals dead and several others injured, including two men who had never met but were both taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Justin Agulia, 33, from Chatsworth, California; and Andrew Canepa, 33, from Newbury Park, California, were killed in the valet area. Angel Martinez, 66, from Sparks, died when the shooter ambushed him as he was leaving the parking lot. Two other individuals, Matt Sitler and Kevin Weir, both from California, were seriously injured but survived. A third person, a resident of Thousand Oaks, California, has since been released from the hospital.

A Life Changed in an Instant

Matt Sitler, 33, was waiting outside the hotel-casino for an Uber with a group of friends just before 7:30 a.m. He was preparing to fly home after a fun bachelor's trip over the weekend. As he stood in a circle with his friends, he heard a loud pop and a bang. Sitler turned toward the source of the sound and watched one of his best friends get shot in the back and fall to the ground. Before he could react, he was shot in the chest.

For a split second, Sitler saw the shooter waving his arms around, pointing the gun at them. "Once I realized I got shot, I'm now running in the opposite direction," he said, heading down the valet lanes. "As I'm running... I got shot again." He flagged down a valet worker in a car, who pulled up and blocked Sitler from the shooter. Things started to get fuzzy, but he remembers falling into what felt like a bed of rocks.

"I thought my life was over," Sitler said. His friends found him, and first responders arrived quickly to help. "I remember feeling a sigh of relief when the first responders showed up," he said. "I didn't expect to still be breathing by the time they showed up."

Sitler was coherent during most of the process until he went under for surgery. When he woke up, his family was with him. "I immediately just wanted to make sure that my people were OK," Sitler said. That’s when he learned that Canepa and Agulia had been killed.

A Deep Connection with the Victims

Sitler described Canepa and Agulia as genuinely good people who would give anyone the shirts off their backs. He spoke about how everyone liked Agulia, who had recently become engaged to one of his family's friends. Canepa, one of Sitler's longtime best friends, had been through a lot together, including the birth of Canepa's son. "That was just his life's mission, to be the best dad possible, and he was. No one could ever take that from him," Sitler said.

Sitler said he was going to take his "second chance on life" as an opportunity to ensure that Canepa and Agulia's legacies live on and that they are never forgotten. "You never really think that you're going to be in a situation like this," he said with tears in his eyes. "In these last few days, I have been living with guilt. Like why did I survive? Because I easily couldn't have."

A Survivor's Perspective

Kevin Weir, 65, was waiting to catch the shuttle to the airport when the shooting occurred. He was flying out to Los Angeles to attend his 89-year-old mother's funeral. Weir, a Loyalton, California, resident, said he was sitting by the shuttle making small talk with a woman and her son when he heard a loud bang. Shots started ringing out, and everyone began running. Weir quickly ran to hide behind a pillar.

A military contractor for 20 years, he said it all reminded him of his time in Afghanistan. Once the shooting stopped, Weir peeked around the pillar and ran directly into the shooter. "I'll never forget the gun pointing at me," Weir said. "Every time I go through it in my mind, it's like a movie. (The shooter) just looked straight at me with dead eyes, like he wasn't even there."

Weir was hit in the shoulder, arm, and upper right thigh. After self-assessing his wounds, he called 911 and started yelling for help. When the police arrived a few minutes later, he heard rapid gunfire at the end of the parking lot. The shooter, identified as 26-year-old Dakota Hawver, was shot by police and later died at Renown overnight Wednesday.

A New Friendship Formed in the Hospital

Despite the tragedy, Sitler and Weir met for the first time in the Renown lobby. Sitler asked Weir how he was. “Considering I was shot three times,” Weir replied, “unbelievably good.” They shared a heartfelt hug, discussing what they would do in the future. Weir promised to show Sitler the nice, hidden spots at Lake Tahoe, while Sitler said he probably wouldn’t be returning to Reno anytime soon.

Their encounter ended with a handshake and another hug before they were wheeled back to their rooms. Both men expressed gratitude for the support they received and the chance to start anew. "Tomorrow is not promised, it really isn't," Sitler said, reflecting on the experience.