Victims’ identities start to emerge
Image copyright Reuters
Details have emerged of some of those killed when Stephen Paddock opened fire on innocent concert-goers in Las Vegas on Monday night.
An off-duty Las Vegas police officer is among those who died. He was identified by friends speaking to the Las Vegas Review-Journal as 34-year-old Charleston Hartfield, a military veteran who also coached youth football.
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Friends identify the Las Vegas police officer killed in Sunday's massacre: Charleston Hartfield, 34 https://t.co/CWu6qqTe9Q pic.twitter.com/dnHFnhQer0
— The Trace (@teamtrace) October 2, 2017 Report
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The Tennessean reports the death of Sonny Melton, 29. The paper quotes his wife, Heather, as saying the nurse, from Big Sandy, saved her life by grabbing her as the shooting started. She says he was shot in the back.
A woman from West Virginia, Denise Burditus, was at the festival with her husband Tony. He later wrote on Facebook that she died in his arms. She was a mother of two and “soon to be a grandmother of five”, he wrote.
A special education teacher from Manhattan Beach in California, Sandy Casey, died after being shot in the back. She was with her fiancé, Christopher Willemse at the concert. Manhattan Beach Middle School, where they were colleagues, described her as “absolutely loved by students and colleagues alike”. She had “made a tremendous difference in the lives of our students and their families,” Superintendent Mike Matthews was quoted as saying on ABC7.
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#Vermonter killed in #LasVegas massacre was an engaged teacher who "never had a bad day." More on the life of Sandy Casey – at 11 on @wcax pic.twitter.com/BIsqkqz9jw
— Priscilla Liguori (@WCAX_Priscilla) October 3, 2017 Report
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Chris Roybal, 28, from Southern California, was a Navy veteran who had recently returned from Afghanistan. He was at the concert with his mother but they had been separated and she ran towards the gunfire to try and find him. “He went to combat and came back without being injured, and then goes to a concert and dies,” she told NBC4.
Corona veteran loses life in #LasVegasShooting after surviving war in Afghanistan https://t.co/vsNoAucvcD pic.twitter.com/pHhclhnF0Z
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) October 3, 2017 Report
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Thomas Day, a home builder in California, was at the concert with his four children, who survived. “He was the best dad. That’s why the kids were with him,” his father told the LA Times.
35-year-old skydiver and mother-of-three Hannah Ahlers was “a devoted mother and wife”, a friend said, and “one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen with a heart to match”.
Angie Gomez, a cheerleader from Riverside, California, was “a cheerful young lady with a warm heart and loving spirit” according to a fundraising page set up for her family.
Dana Gardner, 52, had been a San Bernardino county employee for 26 years and was described as a “go-to person” and a “dedicated public servant”.
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Some victims of the Las Vegas Massacre identified.Dana Gardner was with her daughter when she was killed: https://t.co/rqX92g4bMp pic.twitter.com/OIFdRASUme
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) October 3, 2017 Report
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Also from California, John Phippen was reportedly shot in the back. The Signal reports that Mr Phippen’s son, Travis, was shot in the arm but survived.
The Alaska Dispatch News reports that two Alaskans were killed in the shooting – Adrian Murfitt, 35, a salmon fisher who was at the country music festival with friends, and Dorene Anderson, 49, a stay-at-home mum who was there with her daughters. Both came from Anchorage.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Murfitt was taking a picture with a friend when he was shot in the neck, the friend said
At least three Canadians are among the dead, CBC reports.
It names one as Jordan McIldoon, 23 and a mechanic’s apprentice, from British Columbia. He was attending the country music festival with his girlfriend.
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BREAKING: B.C. man, 23, among the victims in Las Vegas https://t.co/dKR7CDFaiE pic.twitter.com/x01dYyXxaI
— CBC British Columbia (@cbcnewsbc) October 2, 2017 Report
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Jessica Klymchuk, 34 and from Alberta, was a bus driver and school assistant. She had four children.
Another woman from Alberta died in the attack, according to CBC.
Image copyright Getty Images
This page will be updated as more information comes to light
