Las Vegas Tower air traffic controllers Anthony Borgert and Christina Stewart speak to the media about what they experienced during the Las Vegas mass shooting. Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal
The maintenance worker caught in the initial hallway gunfire of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock said he shut off the elevators in Mandalay Bay and helped to direct police to Paddock’s room.
A California special education teacher was among those killed during a mass shooting at the Route 91 country music festival Sunday night, the Manhattan Beach Unified School District reports. Sandra Casey was a special education teacher at Manhattan Beach Middle School for nine years, according to a statement from the school district. Other employees of the middle school and school district attended the music festival but were not injured.
Just six weeks ago, Rocio Guillen Rocha gave birth to her fourth child — a baby boy named Austin. Guillen Rocha was still on maternity leave from her job as an assistant manager at a California Pizza Kitchen. Although she escaped the scene with fiancé, Chris Jaksha, Guillen Rocha later died from a gunshot wound suffered in the attack. The 40-year-old from Corona, California, had four children: 18-year-old Marcus, 13-year-old Christopher, 1-year-old Sofia and 1-month-old Austin. Guillen Rocha was raised in Anaheim and attended Katella High School, where she ran track and cross country.
Nicol Kimura and her close group of friends from Southern California had been looking forward to the Route 91 country music festival since buying their tickets nearly a year ago. The long-anticipated Las Vegas show ended in tragedy, when 38-year-old Kimura, known for her “larger than life” smile, laugh and spirit, became one of 58 victims gunned down at the show, her friend Ryan Miller told the Review-Journal Wednesday. “There were seven of us that went up together, and unfortunately, only six of us came home,” Miller said. Kimura, from Placentia, California, is survived by her parents and a sister. She worked for Orange County, Miller said. Miller set up a GoFundMe to raise money to help pay to transport Kimura’s body home, and for memorial services. The fundraiser was nearing $36,000 around 5 p.m. Wednesday. No services have been scheduled.
A Seattle resident is among those fatally wounded in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest Festival Sunday, the Washington Post has reported. Carrie Parsons graduated from Arizona State University in 2008, according to a Facebook post from the college’s alumni association Seattle chapter. She was a Washington native.
A Northern California truck company owner is among those killed in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest country festival. Friends and family of Kurt Von Tillow gathered near his Cameron Park County Club golf course home on Tuesday to mourn the loss. Von Tillow owned a trucking company, which neighbors said he would sometimes take routes out across the country to Connecticut to see his family. “I never, ever, ever saw him in a bad mood,” Brent Hutchings, a neighbor, told the Sacramento Bee. “Everyone loved him. He was the life of the party and he laughed at everything with this really distinctive boisterous laugh.”
Pati Mestas, 67, of Menifee, California, was killed as she stood near the Route 91 Harvest country music festival stage, doing one of her favorite things. “Pati loved country (music) concerts,” said Isa Bahu, a close friend of more than 10 years. “Brooks and Dunn one of the first (concerts) we went to, and it was one of the best concerts that we went to.”
In addition to going to country music concerts, Mestas loved spending time with her grandchildren. “She lived for those kids,” Bahu said. “She went too soon.”
Brett Schwanbeck, 61, was fatally shot Sunday in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Brett Schwanbeck was no stranger to the great outdoors. As a father he took his two sons on countless expeditions to camp, hunt, fish and ride dirt bikes. “He liked to be where no one else was at. He liked to get lost out in the middle of the woods,” his youngest son Shawn Schwanbeck told the Review-Journal Wednesday. “My dad was the funnest guy in the world to be around.”
Keri Galvan was enjoying the Route 91 Harvest Festival with her husband and their friends when she was cut down by gunfire. The 31-year-old from Thousand Oaks, California, left behind three children. Galvan’s sister and Las Vegas resident Lindsey Poole, described her as a devoted wife and mother. “Her days started and ended with doing everything in her power to be a wonderful mother,” Poole said in a post.
An Aliso Viejo, California, resident is among those killed in the attack on Route 91 Harvest country music festival. Victor Link, a 55-year-old originally from Shafter, California, was “the best dad any son could ever have,” Christian Link, who identified himself as Link’s son. Link was attending the festival with his fiance, Lynne Gonzales, and longtime friends, Rob and Lesley Wedlock, when he was shot and killed during the Jason Aldean concert on Sunday. “Victor was a loving fiance, proud father, loyal son, protective brother, supportive uncle and kind friend. We wish to express our gratitude to all that have helped contribute to Victor’s extraordinary life. Whether you were a relative, friend, or neighbor, you we’re all a part of making his life so meaningful,” a statement released by Link’s family said.
Las Vegas Strip mass murderer Stephen Paddock used his Mandalay Bay hotel room to spray massive aviation fuel tanks with bullets Sunday night, a knowledgeable source told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. One bullet penetrated one of the circular white tanks but did not cause a fire, sparing the nearby Route 91 Harvest country music festival from a potentially massive explosion, the source said Wednesday. The tanks are roughly 1,100 feet from the concert site, where Paddock killed 58 people and wounded almost 500.
Two paramedics with Community Ambulance, the medic team contracted for Route 91, share their stories responding to the shooting.
Las Vegas local and UFC 216 competitor Evan Dunham discusses his upcoming fight against Beneil Dariush and how the city’s recent tragedy has affected him.
Joe Lombardo gives everyone an update on new details about the ongoing investigation on the Route 91 Music Festival shooting in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas resident Erick Silva, is among those killed in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. Silva, 21, was stationed in front of the stage at the festival Sunday as part of the show’s security detail. Silva worked security for the Las Vegas branch of CSC for about three years. Gina Argento says when the shooting started, he was among the first of the event’s first responders, helping concertgoers to flee until he, himself, was killed.
Tara Roe Smith, a model, mother and wife from Canada was one of the 58 killed in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest music festival. Statements from a modeling agency and a school where she worked in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, mourned Roe Smith. Sophia Models International, where she modeled for 10 years, described her as “a friendly face and had a very caring spirit” in a statement on their Facebook page posted late Tuesday. A GoFundMe has been created to help support Roe Smith’s husband, Zach, and their two young sons. In one day, the campaign raised more than $120,000.
Video taken during the mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip at the Route 91 Music Festival near Mandalay Bay.
Walking into Jennifer Parks’ kindergarten classroom, it was easy to tell Palmdale, California, teacher cared about her pupils. Parks was a little more than a month into her third year of teaching when she was shot and killed Sunday. Parks, who was in her early 30s, received a master’s degree in education in May. “She’s one of those kind of people you meet her and she is so enthusiastic about everything she is doing. Teaching is one of those things she was cut out to do.” said Westside Union School District Superintendent Regina Rossall.
Jennifer Irvine, a 42-year-old family law and criminal defense attorney who ran her own law firm in San Diego, had a great career ahead of her, her publicist, Jay Jones said Wednesday. It was cut short when she died Sunday in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. “She was always enthusiastic and wonderful. She was optimistic about life,” Jones said. Outside of work, Irvine held a black belt in taekwondo, practiced hot yoga, and snowboarded, her LinkedIn said.
Iowa resident Carly Kreibaum is one of the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip. The Sutherland Church of Christ, which on Monday held a prayer vigil for Kreibaum while she was only known as missing, confirmed on Wednesday that Kreibaum has died. Kreibaum was among dozens of Route 91 festival attendees that family members were frantically trying to locate after the shooting. Kreibaum was a resident of Sutherland and attended the festival with friends Alison Huckaby and Amy Douglas, according to the Sioux City Journal. Those friends lost Kreibaum in their escape. A GoFundMe page for Kreibaum says she was 33 and leaves behind two children.
Laura Shipp, 50, of Las Vegas, got separated from her son, who is described as the “light of her life,” when the shooting began at Route 91 Harvest country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. Her son, 23-year-old Corey Shipp, a Marine Reservist, spent Sunday night and the early Monday morning hours trying to find her. “She was a single mother from the day he was born,” said Steve Shipp, her brother, who confirmed her death Wednesday afternoon. “The two of them just had each other. They were very close.” Steve Shipp, who drove into Las Vegas from California, said his top priority is supporting his nephew and his family through the days ahead.
California resident Austin Davis is among those killed in this week’s mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip.
The local plumbers and pipefitters union in Colton, California, confirmed Davis’ death, but out of respect for the family declined to give any statements when reached by phone on Wednesday. “Austin, Davis, UA member of local 364, died in the terrible Las Vegas shooting,” the United Association Local 364 union wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday morning. “In his memory, we post these photos.” A GoFundMe page for a memorial fund had raised over $14,000 of a $20,000 goal as of noon on Wednesday.
John Phippen, a 56-year-old father of six from Santa Clarita, California, was among those killed in the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting. A GoFundMe page was created for the Phippen family by longtime neighbors and friends, Leah and Paul Nagyivanyi. Phippen and his son Travis were attending the concert together. Travis Phippen was shot in the arm during the Sunday night attack. On the GoFundMe page, Leah Nagyivanyi wrote: “If you didn’t know John you surely missed out. He was a simple man who enjoyed the simple things in life and having fun doing them.”
Kelsey Meadows, 28, of Taft, California, is among concertgoers killed at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas. Meadows was a substitute teacher at Taft Union High School District since 2012. Meadows graduated from Taft Union High School in 2007 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Fresno State University. “Kelsey was smart, compassionate and kind,” Mary Alice Finn, Taft High principal, said in a statement. “She had a sweet spirit and a love for children. Words cannot adequately capture the sorrow felt by her students, colleagues and friends in learning of her passing.”
A 28-year-old Canadian who was recently promoted to a manager position at her job was among those killed in the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. Calla Medig was set to return to Edmonton, Alberta, on Wednesday and start her role as a manager at Moxies Bar/Grill in the West Edmonton Mall on Thursday, said Scott Collingwood, the general manager. “She was fun-loving, responsible, dedicated, hardworking. I don’t know what to say about her, honestly. It’s just a huge loss for us,” Collingwood said. Collingwood said his staff is feeling the loss.
A longtime employee of a New Mexico school district was among those killed in the mass shooting. Lisa Romero-Muniz, 48, had worked as a secretary for Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools since 2003. “She was not only an employee of our school district but was an incredible loving and sincere friend, mentor and advocate for our students in many of the schools in which she worked in,” interim superintendent Mike Hyatt said in a press conference. Hyatt described Romero-Muniz as a wife, mother and grandmother. She was working at Hiroshi Miyamura High School.
A California woman who loved traveling and country music is among those killed in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. Denise Cohen, a 57-year-old Santa Barbara resident, attended the concert with 56-year-old Derrick “Bo” Taylor, her boyfriend. Cohen was a huge country music fan and loved attending concerts, her sister-in-law Kelli Gentile said Wednesday. “She loved concerts, period. She loved music, but I know she was thrilled beyond to be able to see Jason Aldean,” Gentile said.
Jack Beaton, 54, of Bakersfield, California, was killed shielding his wife from gunfire at the Route 91 Harvest music festival. Jack Beaton laid atop Laurie as gunfire erupted outside Mandalay Bay in the Sunday night attack. “He enjoyed camping, often in Pismo Beach with friends and family…” wrote Karen Sallee, whose son was Beaton’s neighbor. She described him as kind and fun-loving, and said “he could be tough talking, but inside he was soft.”
Memorials are scattered around to the Las Vegas Strip to remember the victims of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Country Music Festival. #VegasStrong