UF student, Las Vegas victim, recovering from gunshot wound

Among the hundreds injured in the Las Vegas mass shooting, a Gainesville native and UF Law student, Kristin Babik, is lucky to be alive.

She is recovering at a hospital in Las Vegas, after suffering a gunshot wound that just barely missed her spine and could have paralyzed her. It could be weeks before she's back to normal.

"My ribs still hurt and I'm still in a lot of pain," Babik said. "It broke my ribs and bruised my lungs and my lungs started collapsing and filling with blood."

The Buchholz High School graduate said Jason Aldean had only sund a couple of songs when the chaos began.

"I felt something hit my back. It didn't feel like a bullet wound, it felt like a paintball or something. My friend who was with me once I got hit. Right after that he was like, 'We gotta get out of here!' He didn't even realize I got hit," she recalled.

Unable to breathe, with blood streaming from her wound, she and her friend ran as fast as they could.

"I had to climb over a fence to get out of there, coughing up blood," Babik said.

A bullet is lodged in her back, centimeters from her spine.

"It's funny I was actually supposed to see Florida Georgia Line next weekend, that's probably not happening," she said.

Babik is heading back to Gainesville soon, with high hopes of walking again and fulfilling her dreams of becoming a criminal prosecutor. "Hopefully I can walk across the stage like I did for undergrad," she said.

Dean Laura Rosenbury from the Levin School of Law wrote in an email, "We look forward to welcoming her back to Gainesville as soon as she recovers."

Babik said she is thankful for the support she's received from her hometown.

There is a

account for her recovery.