‘We will never forget you’: Sunrise ceremony honors 1 October victims
When Jeff Poole received the call that his 31-year-old daughter had died in what would become the largest mass shooting in U.S. history, he didn’t want to believe she was gone.
Keri Lynn Galvan, of Thousand Oaks, California, had attended the 2017 Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas. Though she missed her three children dearly, she chose to stay for the final day of the concert, hoping to see Jason Aldean’s performance. When her father saw the news that someone had opened fire into the festival grounds, Poole prayed that his firstborn had gotten away.
But that’s not what happened, Poole said. Eight years later, he paid tribute to Galvan during a sunrise ceremony for her and the 59 others killed. He recalled his daughter’s bravery, her passion for singing — despite, he said, her inability to carry a tune — and her dedication to her family.
“She was something special,” Poole told hundreds who had gathered at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater on Wednesday. “I had heard that losing a child is the hardest thing to go through, and now that I’ve actually had to face that fear, I can say that that’s really an understatement. It leaves a hole in your heart that can never be filled.”
On Oct. 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire from a high-rise suite at Mandalay Bay that overlooked the festival grounds. The Metropolitan Police Department said the shooter barricaded himself in his room and used several high-powered assault weapons to shoot into the festival crowd, killing 60 and injuring hundreds more.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill, County Commissioner Tick Segerblom and Gov. Joe Lombardo also delivered remarks at Wednesday’s event.
McMahill said that since the massacre, Metro has created a wellness bureau to help officers with grief and mental health. The department also has established a regional training center for first responders in the valley and beyond to “prepare for real-world dangers,” whether at schools, casinos or homes.
“To the impacted community of 1 October, I want you to know that we will never forget you,” McMahill said. “You drive us to do better, to be better, so that we will never stop working to honor each and every one of you.”
McMahill also shared updates on the Forever One Memorial, a monument that will be located at the festival site and completed by the 10th anniversary of the shooting. Vegas Strong, a nonprofit overseeing the project, was selling custom pavers to continue raising money for the memorial, the sheriff said.
Forever One board member Kelly McMahill, the sheriff’s wife and a retired Metro deputy chief, later said the Forever One project would cost approximately $45 million and that the organization already had made a $4 million dent in that goal.
“What I love about this is it gives everyday people the ability to continue to heal and help with this project,” Kelly McMahill said. “You can inscribe your personal message, and it will be part of this for eternity.”
Toward the end of the ceremony, Bryan Hopkins and Ben Carey, who are survivors of the shooting and members of country music group Elvis Monroe, performed an original song called “The Fight,” which they wrote four days after the tragedy.
Hopkins sang, “Stand up. Let’s fight shoulder to shoulder.” People in the first three rows of the audience, mostly relatives of those killed, embraced each other and swayed. They wore Golden Knights jerseys and T-shirts emblazoned with photos of their loved ones. Some people used tissues to wipe away their tears.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.
