LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Eight years have handed since a gunman opened hearth on a crowd of competition goers on the Las Vegas Strip, killing dozens and injuring a whole lot extra.
Clark County held a dawn remembrance ceremony to honor the lives misplaced. Survivors are nonetheless dwelling with the ache of that evening, however discover consolation in the neighborhood.
“They care about what happened to us that night. They’ve never forgotten,” Roberta MacDonald, who travelled from California to attend the ceremony, mentioned. ”It’s simply particular, it’s particular that individuals don’t neglect.”
Uncooked feelings on show on the Clark County amphitheater because the group gathered to honor the lives endlessly modified on 1 October. Individuals hugged, cried, and mirrored on that fateful evening.
“It was scary. It was – I don’t know. All we could do was just run and help people if we could,” MacDonald mentioned.
Macdonald and her pal April Frey had been among the many 1000’s on the Route 91 Harvest Musical Pageant that evening.
“Our friend Diana lost her niece that night, Angie Gomez,” mentioned Frey.
Angela “Angie” Gomez was one of many youngest capturing victims, simply 20 years previous. She was a nursing pupil at Riverside Metropolis Faculty in California with goals forward of her. She had simply accepted her first job, and her highschool sweetheart proposed to her simply hours earlier than the capturing. Her life, and plenty of others, ended far too quickly.
To maintain their tales alive, a everlasting memorial is being deliberate. Households and survivors, together with Karessa Royce, are ensuring the world by no means forgets.
“History is important. We’re the storytellers of our time, and we want to make sure this is never forgotten and always remembered,” Royce mentioned.
The memorial shall be constructed on two acres donated by MGM on the northeast nook of the competition website. It can embrace a group plaza, a 58-foot-tall tower of sunshine, and 58 candles – one for every sufferer.
“It’s a remembrance of the courage, strength, and love that erupted after that night,” Frey mentioned.
The Vegas Sturdy Fund overseeing the venture has raised $4 million of their $45 million aim. They hope to interrupt floor in 2026 with the memorial full by the tenth anniversary in 2027.
“Help us build the Forever One Memorial. It’s important to us survivors, it’s important to the families that lost somebody. It’s important to the city,” MacDonald mentioned.
