61°F
weather icon Mostly Cloudy

Take a look at the proposed 1 October memorial models

Updated June 5, 2023 - 2:57 pm

Five finalists’ models of prospective 1 October memorials were presented at the Clark County Government Center on Monday morning.

Each rendering represented one team chosen as a finalist to make the memorial of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, which happened on the Strip on Oct. 1, 2017.

In a brief introduction, Clark County Commissioners Jim Gibson and Marilyn Kirkpatrick said they were excited to see the result of four years of monthly 1 October Memorial Committee meetings.

“It’s somewhat emotional for me,” Kirkpatrick said. “I feel like it took me back a bit. Looking at all of these designs, they’re amazing. Each design has something specific that detailed, that at least I remember hearing from the survivors and the community, what it meant.”

Commissioners Michael Naft and William McCurdy II were joined by a handful of survivors as they walked through the models Monday morning.

“We hope that what people will do is come and spend a few minutes with each one of these designs so you get a sense of what they really are,” Gibson said in his speech.

The architecture teams represented are Aaron Neubert Architects+studioSTIGSGAARD, JCJ Architecture, OLIN, Paul Murdoch Architects and SWA Group.

All of the models included greenery, from flowers to trees to grass. Some featured restrooms and meeting rooms, while others focused heavily on the use of 58 items to commemorate the first 58 people who were killed.

The Metropolitan Police Department, which was the lead investigator of the shooting, said 60 people were killed, because of two women who died from their injuries in 2019 and 2020.

The renderings will be on display at the Clark County Government Center rotunda every Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. until Sept. 7.

At Monday’s personation, Joseph Kocjan wore the same shirt he had worn the night of the shooting. which read “event staff” on the back. Kocjan was working for Contemporary Services Corporation, or CSC Security, during the shooting. He remembered running across the field trying to determine the source of the noise.

“ ‘You got to get out of here,’ my boss said. But I said ‘I’m not leaving, that’s what we do,’ ” Kocjan recalled Monday. “So I’m going up front to take care of people up at the stage. Just as I get around the doggone corner, this bullet goes right past my head, but I don’t know where it’s coming from.”

Kocjan reviewed the memorial models and said Aaron Neubert Architects+studioSTIGSGAARD’s proposal was his favorite. The design featured a cone-shaped building that he said would have great surround sound, and he hoped they would use it for classes and presentations.

As he thought about the shooting, he remembered finding dozens of people under the stage. He grabbed as many as he could and ran through the field to a tour bus. Amid the chaos, Kocjan was kicked into a large pole and permanently hurt his right arm and hip.

Kocjan would soon quit his job and refused to work in security again.

“When you say your heart’s no longer into it,” he said, tearing up, “I’m done working.”

The five architecture teams are scheduled to present their proposals in a community meeting at the government center at 4 p.m. June 14. After the meeting, the community can submit their feedback on an online survey available through June 29.

The committee is expected to pick a winner and make a recommendation to the commissioners on Sept. 5.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST