Remembering “2 October”: The Light That Flooded The Darkness
I remember October 1st, 2017. Headed to the Golden Knights final preseason game at T-Mobile Arena. It was their first year and even though they weren’t looking to be all that great, I wanted to get out and support. My friend was a big hockey fan, so I texted him to see if he wanted to go.
“sorry can’t. at harvey fest”. Hurricane Harvey was not that long prior, and I assumed perhaps he went to a fundraiser for relief efforts. I went to the game alone.
After the game, I talked with “Big D“. He was a radio friend, working “across the street” at a competing station as well as his duties as the Golden Knights emcee. We chatted a bit, and he told me he was going to head out and meet up with his family at Route 91. We bro hugged, and I headed for the exit. Got some ice cream to nurse the 5-3 loss to the Sharks we just endured, and drove home.
Then, the push notification came on my phone.
What followed, we all know. Several of my friends and co-workers were there – including the friend I tried to bring to the game that night. Thankfully all made it out physically okay. Mentally? A whole other story. My wife’s co-worker was with a group of people that literally knocked down a fence boarding then-McCarran International Airport to escape the barrage of bullets. It was unimaginable. The amount of sorrow that flooded the valley was immeasurable.
On 2 October, Las Vegas showed up
The sun would rise the following morning on a different city. One that had only just begun to grasp the scope of this massive attack. Everyone in the city was stunned, but wanted to do something.
This day, October 2nd, 2017, was the best moment in the valley’s history.
United Blood Services (now Vitalant) had a line down the street of people wanting to donate blood to help with what promised to be a long-haul of care for those that were able to reach a hospital alive. People rallied throughout the community to support each other. Non-profits helping with aid entered the day saying what they needed, and ended the day quite literally saying “we don’t need any more”. Some firehouses were taking donations but by the end of the day, it was down to only 1.
Clark County Fire Department Station 66 was still accepting donations. The Mountain’s Edge firehouse is my local one. I remember going on-air and pointing the myriad of voices who were calling, wondering how they could help, to head to that location. One caller in particular, a trucker headed from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, pulled off Interstate 15 to bring bottles of water to the firehouse, several minutes off his route. I drove past that firehouse after my show that night and the outpouring was awe-inspiring.
So too was the effort in downtown. The city had almost immediately designated a patch of land in the Arts District to do something, anything, for the victims. In only three short days, the entire community rallied and created a permanent memorial, the Las Vegas Community Healing Garden. Featuring 58 trees, one to signify each of the 58 that (up until that point) died as a result of their injuries, surrounding a 59th tree. “The Tree Of Life” donated by Siegfried and Roy. In three days.
Las Vegas was always that tourist attraction for people throughout the country. On 2 October, Las Vegas was seen by the world as an amazing community. The acts of heroism and selflessness that took place in the days that followed the shooting brought this community tighter than ever before.
We would obviously take it all back to erase the horrific day that preceded it, but 2 October showed what this city was made of.
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Remembering The Victims Of 1 October
As the fifth year of the tragic 1 October shooting passes throughout Las Vegas like a cold wind, we remember and honor the people who lost their lives during the travesty.
Clark County Coroner released the name of all victims with some victims being added later to the fatality count. People from California, Massachusetts to even the provinces of Canada are included in the list. They vary from 20 to 67 in age and were mothers and husbands, daughters and sisters, grandparents, and grandchildren.
They were at the Route 91 Harvest festival to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and to share their love for country music.
Multiple organizations and public officials have created public memorials, exhibits and pieces of art that honor the victims, whose lives were unjustly taken.
The Clark County Museum currently has an exhibit called “5 Years Later: Remembering 1 October & Becoming Vegas Stronger.”
“It’s important for us to honor the lives lost and forever changed because of 1 October,” Clark County Commission Chairman Jim Gibson, whose district includes the museum and festival site, said in a news release. “Our community can be proud of how we responded to the darkness of that day and remember the outpouring of love and support we received from each other and from across the country and around the world.
“It’s also important to recognize the strength and resiliency that we continue to demonstrate as a community in response to the tragedy with every passing year.”
Every injury and life that was lost — or saved — has impacted our city in ways that we never expected prior to the shooting. For many of us, it’s hard to be in a crowd. It’s hard to attend a music festival, or any large gathering, with the innocence and jubilant naïve feelings that we had before.
1 October is a day that we never will forget. But, it’s a day that also represents the journey to heal our community’s pain through coming together as one.
Mynda Smith, sister of Neysa Tonks, who was killed in the shooting, said a powerful quote that NPR reported initially.
Smith, during a ceremony remembering the victims a year after the massacre, said “The battle is far from over. Wives, husbands, parents, families and friends are without their loved ones. People are still battling physical wounds, while others are battling mental wounds. We all need support and love. We must keep loving. We must keep supporting.”