Amid Wednesday's deadly shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas one student found herself in a particularly challenging situation.
Natalie Matarazzo is a junior at the school who is paralyzed from the waist down due to a car accident in 2020. She was in front of Beam Hall on campus when the shooting started.
"I was terrified. I wanted to freeze. I had no idea what was going on. I was frozen for quite some time in this spot," Matarazzo said.
While students and staff fled around her, Matarazzo was at the mercy of her wheelchair.
"I can't run, I can't hide, and I cannot fight. So that was really scary because I didn't know what was going on," she said.
With her limited mobility, Matarazzo tried her best to move away from danger. That's when a stranger, a good samaritan, approached her with an offer of assistance.
"I turned around just to see what was going on behind me for a quick second. This girl came up, and she said, 'Do you want me to push you?' I said, 'Yes, please, I have no idea what is going on. I just need to get out of here as soon as possible,'" Matarazzo said.
The compassionate stranger pushed her for about a mile, eventually dropping her off at her apartment building. When Matarazzo turned around to express her gratitude to the stranger, she lost sight of the rescuer within the sea of people and chaos.
Now, she's hoping that the anonymous helper might come forward so that she may express how thankful she is for their help.
"The fact that this random stranger decided she was going to help me one day — I don't have any other words to say other than it meant a lot," Matarazzo said.
If you have any information about the good samaritan who assisted Natalie, email Scripps News Las Vegas reporter Isabella Martin at Isabella.martin@ktnv.com.
This story was originally published by Isabella Martin at Scripps News Las Vegas.
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