Las Vegas showgirls are afraid to return to work on the famed Sin City Strip after a knife-wielding man went on a rampage that left two dead and 6 injured on Thursday.
The person had asked for an image with the women — who were wearing their signature brilliant costumes — then pulled out a knife and commenced stabbing them, leaving showgirl Maris Digiovanni and bystander Brent Hallet dead.
The alleged assailant, Yonni Barrios, was arrested shortly after the attack and faces two charges for murder and 6 counts of attempted murder.
The victims all worked for Best Showgirls in Vegas and colleagues told The Post on Saturday how the ordeal has affected them and called for a stronger police presence on the streets.
“We’re all really distraught — it happened on one in all the safer locations on the Strip and at 11 o’clock within the morning,” said showgirl Mikayla Yegge, 27.
“We don’t feel protected being on the market,” she added. “We don’t know what we’re going to do next or how we’re going to proceed to become profitable.”
The ladies — who wear extravagant bejeweled feather headpieces and sexy outfits — are a staple on the Vegas Strip, posing for pictures with tourists for suggestions outside casinos.
Lately, nonetheless, the ladies said they’ve grown concerned for his or her safety.
Lexi McKinney, 27, has worked for Best Showgirls in Vegas for nine years. She claims police patrols have develop into more scarce on the Strip in recent times, and if girls seek help from the private security at casinos, they’re told they’re on their very own.
“There are occasions [showgirls] feel they’re being followed, but they’ve been shooed out of casinos,” McKinney said. “They’ve been told, ‘No. We should not here to assist.’”
Also injured in Thursday’s attack were Victoria Cayetano and Anna Westby, who were each stabbed within the back.
Westby told The Post she tried to assist Digiovanni, who was stabbed in the center, but she died in her arms. One other showgirl only known by her first name, Selena, was capable of escape physically unharmed.
Cayatano was released from the hospital, and spoke to reporters on Friday via Zoom.
“I just felt the pressure in my back,” Cayetano said. “It happened so fast that I’m undecided. I do know, like, he got me because he stabbed me within the back … He hit me with force [of] his body and that’s why I fell.”
“If I wouldn’t have fallen, he could’ve gotten me rather a lot deeper,” Cayetano added.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said Barrios arrived from California earlier within the week and told officials he went to the Las Vegas Strip to search for a job as a chef after a friend wouldn’t allow him to remain at his house.
Barrios claimed he was attempting to sell his knives so he could return home, police said.
Cheryl Lowthorp, who runs Best Showgirls in Vegas, has began a GoFundMe page for the young women.
A number of the women said they should not sure how they’ll have the option to financially rebound and even return to work on the Strip.
“I feel that irrespective of how much we do and after we take care of one another, it’s not going to be until we get the assistance in the neighborhood for us to have the option to step back into our power and never be afraid like each girl on this community right away,” said Julie Salazar, 25, one other performer for the corporate.
Las Vegas showgirls are afraid to return to work on the famed Sin City Strip after a knife-wielding man went on a rampage that left two dead and 6 injured on Thursday.
The person had asked for an image with the women — who were wearing their signature brilliant costumes — then pulled out a knife and commenced stabbing them, leaving showgirl Maris Digiovanni and bystander Brent Hallet dead.
The alleged assailant, Yonni Barrios, was arrested shortly after the attack and faces two charges for murder and 6 counts of attempted murder.
The victims all worked for Best Showgirls in Vegas and colleagues told The Post on Saturday how the ordeal has affected them and called for a stronger police presence on the streets.
“We’re all really distraught — it happened on one in all the safer locations on the Strip and at 11 o’clock within the morning,” said showgirl Mikayla Yegge, 27.
“We don’t feel protected being on the market,” she added. “We don’t know what we’re going to do next or how we’re going to proceed to become profitable.”
The ladies — who wear extravagant bejeweled feather headpieces and sexy outfits — are a staple on the Vegas Strip, posing for pictures with tourists for suggestions outside casinos.
Lately, nonetheless, the ladies said they’ve grown concerned for his or her safety.
Lexi McKinney, 27, has worked for Best Showgirls in Vegas for nine years. She claims police patrols have develop into more scarce on the Strip in recent times, and if girls seek help from the private security at casinos, they’re told they’re on their very own.
“There are occasions [showgirls] feel they’re being followed, but they’ve been shooed out of casinos,” McKinney said. “They’ve been told, ‘No. We should not here to assist.’”
Also injured in Thursday’s attack were Victoria Cayetano and Anna Westby, who were each stabbed within the back.
Westby told The Post she tried to assist Digiovanni, who was stabbed in the center, but she died in her arms. One other showgirl only known by her first name, Selena, was capable of escape physically unharmed.
Cayatano was released from the hospital, and spoke to reporters on Friday via Zoom.
“I just felt the pressure in my back,” Cayetano said. “It happened so fast that I’m undecided. I do know, like, he got me because he stabbed me within the back … He hit me with force [of] his body and that’s why I fell.”
“If I wouldn’t have fallen, he could’ve gotten me rather a lot deeper,” Cayetano added.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said Barrios arrived from California earlier within the week and told officials he went to the Las Vegas Strip to search for a job as a chef after a friend wouldn’t allow him to remain at his house.
Barrios claimed he was attempting to sell his knives so he could return home, police said.
Cheryl Lowthorp, who runs Best Showgirls in Vegas, has began a GoFundMe page for the young women.
A number of the women said they should not sure how they’ll have the option to financially rebound and even return to work on the Strip.
“I feel that irrespective of how much we do and after we take care of one another, it’s not going to be until we get the assistance in the neighborhood for us to have the option to step back into our power and never be afraid like each girl on this community right away,” said Julie Salazar, 25, one other performer for the corporate.
