Las Vegas on Saturday will host an event to mark five years since a gunman opened fire on a crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in what's considered to be the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in U.S. history.
On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock fired more than 1,000 bullets from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Sixty people were killed and at least 413 people were wounded by gunshots, along with hundreds more injured from the crowd's panicked response. Paddock was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and no motive has been determined for his actions.
Clark County, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Clark County Fire Department and the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center are co-hosting the "Sunrise Remembrance" ceremony at 7:30 a.m. PT on Saturday at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater in downtown Las Vegas.
A minute of silence will be held for those lost by the shooting, and county music singer Sam Riddle will perform a live set that will feature his song "Vegas Strong."
The event will also feature the Southern Nevada Multiagency Honor Guard, as well as remarks from Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Joe Lombardo and Angela McIldoon, who is the mother of one of the victims.
The Sunrise Remembrance will be broadcast live on Clark County Television (CCTV) and other local news media television stations and websites. The ceremony can also be seen on Facebook via Clark County, here via youtube, here via Twitter, or here via Twitch.
A recording of the event will be available on-demand on the County's Facebook page later on Saturday and on its YouTube page on Monday.
When reached for comment by Newsweek, a Vegas Strong Resiliency Center representative provided a press statement that said, "This Sunrise Remembrance is one of several #VegasStronger activities being held this year to honor victims and survivors of the attack and to highlight the community's unity and strength in the aftermath of 1 October."
The Clark County Museum also has exhibits that the Vegas Strong release described as exploring "the community's grief and healing process since the shooting." The free exhibit features letters, posters, signs, and other items related to the tragedy.
A display at the museum will also detail the work of Clark County's 1 October Memorial Committee, which was established by the Clark County Commission "to gather input to build a permanent memorial that remembers those who perished in the attack, honors survivors, first responders and all those affected by the incident and celebrates the resiliency of our community."
Other activities to mark the anniversary of the tragedy include the Remember Music Festival on Saturday night with performances by Midland, Dylan Schneider, Drew Green, Meghan Patrick and Walker Montgomery. Proceeds from the concert will go towards a permanent 1 October memorial in Las Vegas.
A full list of events can be found here.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
