SINGAPORE — On his way to see the famous Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas on Monday (Oct 02), Singaporean Marcus Seng was stuck in heavy traffic when he heard the first volley of gun fire that would mark the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

The 30-year-old, who was on his motorcycle, inched to the front of the traffic junction and stopped just 20m to 30m away from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on his left.

“I was wearing my motorbike helmet and initially thought (the sound of the gun fire) was a mini helicopter taking off from the casino,” said the former Naval Officer.

Pandemonium soon kicked in, as it became apparent that someone was firing into a concert crowd at an outdoor country music festival opposite the casino.

Mr Seng told TODAY: “I saw a police car heading towards the hotel. Cars were turning right to avoid the (Las Vegas) Strip. People (at the concert) were running to the streets.”

He instinctively made a right turn at the junction, and sped away from the direction of the gunfire. “I was worried that the other drivers would panic and run over me, so my priority was getting out of the Strip,” Mr Seng added.

He stopped only after riding about 2km to a quiet carpark.

“Even then, the sounds of gunfire were still audible,” recounted Mr Seng. He was by then about 20 minutes away from his accommodation. “I saw about 15 to 20 police cars rushing in the opposite direction towards the (Mandalay) hotel. I was quite impressed with their response time.”

The shooting incident that he narrowly escaped from turned out to be the deadliest in recent history.

A gunman allegedly perched on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and armed with an arsenal of firearms rained bullets on the concert crowd, killing at least 59 people and injuring over 500 people in the ensuing chaos.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written to United States President Donald Trump to express his condolences and convey Singapore’s condemnation of the shooting. No Singaporeans are reported to have been injured in the incident, thus far.

Mr Seng, who is currently travelling around North and South America on his motorbike, intends to remain in Las Vegas before heading to California.

He added: “Most people will have an irrational fear (about staying), but I will continue my stay in Vegas for at least a week.”

Another Singaporean who has been staying in Las Vegas since 2014, Ms Valerie Lim, said the area of the incident has since been under lockdown and she will not be surprised if "it takes another day or so before they open up the area around Mandalay Bay".

"Nobody really wanted to be around the south side of the Strip. I had customers who came to the north side because they didn't know where else to go," said the 29-year-old who works at the North Premium Outlets. "There were a couple vigils being held throughout the city, and blood donations centres opened up. People are coming together to support one another."

Ms Lim revealed that the blood donation campaign in Vegas is now into overdrive, with the waiting times at the blood banks are as high as 6 hours.

"My colleagues and I are talking about heading down later this week," she said. "The blood banks are asking us to come back later, as they have enough supplies - for now."

With Las Vegas a popular holiday destination for Singaporeans, is it still safe for tourists to visit? Ms Lim certainly believes so.

"What happened to Vegas, has been happening around the world," she said. "When disaster strikes, we will come together, and push forward. It is how we honour those who have paid the price and to show that no one owns our freedom."

"Vegas, if anything, showed a strong, organised, system that tackled the situation the best they could. People need time to heal, and they will get the time to do so.

"In Vegas, there's the saying, the show must go on."