The first shooting victims have been identified after 59 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday in what has become the deadliest mass shooting in American history.
Sonny Melton, 29, Denise Salmon Burditus, 50, Lisa Romero, Jordan McIldoon, 23, Jessica Klymchuk, 28, Jenny Parks, Susan Smith, 53, and Adrian Murfitt, 35, all lost their lives when 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock of nearby Mesquite, Nevada began shooting from his hotel room across the street at the Mandalay Bay Casino.
John Phippen, Rhonda LeRocque, Dana Gardner, Quinton Robbins, 20, Bailey Schweitzer, Angie Gomez, and Carrie Barnette were killed in the mass shooting. Melissa Ramirez, who was a graduate of California State University at Bakersfield, Charleston Hartfield and 35-year-old special education teacher from southern California Sandy Casey were also killed in the horrific shooting.
Another 527 people were injured in what is now the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
Melton’s wife Heather, a surgeon, who was with him watching Jason Aldean at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, says her brave and selfless husband died saving her life.
‘He saved my life. He grabbed me and started running when I felt him get shot in the back,’ she told WSMV. ‘I want everyone to know what a kind-hearted, loving man he was, but at this point, I can barely breathe.’
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Sonny Melton, 29, died saving his surgeon wife Heather’s life when Stephen Craig Paddock of nearby Mesquite, Nevada began shooting from his hotel room across the street at the Mandalay Bay Casino
Denise Salmon Burditus, 50, was among the 59 people murdered at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Sunday. She is pictured with her husband Tony Burditus at the festival in a photograph she posted to Facebook at around 9.30pm PDT – just minutes before the gunman opened fire
Mom-of-four Jessica Klymchuk (left) and Quinton Robbins, 20, (right) are among the 59 people who were gunned down and killed during the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival last night
Jordan McIlldoon (left) and Lisa Romero (right) are reportedly among the 59 people who lost their lives during the mass shooting
Adrian Murfitt, 35, (left)was confirmed dead by a close friend, while married mother-of-two, and kindergarten teacher Jenny Parks (right) was also killed in the carnage
Susan Smith, (left) an office manager for the Simi Valley Unified School District since 2001, and Dana Gardner (right) who worked for the County of San Bernardino
Rhonda LeRocque (left) a minister’s wife, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts, died instantly after being shot in the back of the head. Fellow victim John Phippen, (right) of Santa Clarita, California, was at the concert with his son Travis – a medic – but tragically Travis wasn’t able to save his own father
Former cheerleader, Angie Gomez, who graduated from Riverside Polytechnic HS, in California, is among the 57 other people killed in the tragedy on Sunday
Victims Bailey Schweitzer, of Bakersfield, California, (left) and Carrie Barnette, a Pacifica High School graduate (right)
Melissa Ramirez (pictured), who was a graduate of California State University at Bakersfield, was also killed in the shooting. Sandy Casey (right), 35, special education teacher from southern California were also killed in the horrific shooting
Rachael Parker (pictured) was with fellow off-duty officers from Manhattan Beach, California when Paddock opened fire. Parker, 33, was a records technician for the force for 10 years, the agency said in a statement. She died at the hospital. Charleston Hartfield (right) was also among the 59 victims
Mother-of-three, Neysa Tonks (pictured), was the latest victim to be identified. Her family started a GoFundMe account in order to raise money for her three sons. San Diego attorney Jennifer Irvine (right) was also identified by her friends on Monday. Irvine was a graduate of University of San Diego and California Western School of Law, and was a family law attorney
The couple lived in Big Sandy, Tennessee, where Melton worked as a registered nurse in an emergency room and ICU at Henry County Medical Center.
His wife works at the hospital and he aided her in the operating room. They married in 2016.
‘We were the couple that never should have met, fallen in love or had a future together….but life is funny and we believe God brought us together as soul mates,’ read their wedding page on The Knot. ‘We have shared amazing times together and nearly unbearable heartaches but through it all we have grown stronger in our love for each other and our families.’
Mother-of-two, and kindergarten teacher Jenny Parks, of Lancaster, LA in California, was also killed in the carnage.
Her aunt, Rhonda Boyle, wrote on Facebook: ‘It’s a sad day for me and my family my niece was murdered killed by that SOB in Los Vegas. Please pray for me and my family, she was a sweet woman… and a good mother.’
She leaves behind her husband Bobby Parks, 39, and their two kids.
Rachael Parker was with fellow off-duty officers from Manhattan Beach, California when Paddock opened fire.
Parker, 33, was a records technician for the force for 10 years, the agency said in a statement. She died at the hospital.
Mother-of-three, Neysa Tonks, was the latest victim to be identified. Her family started a GoFundMe account in order to raise money for her three sons.
Denise Salmon Burditus, 50, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, reportedly died in her husband of 32 years, Tony Burditus’ arms just minutes after posting a picture of themselves at the festival.
Burditus, a semi-retired grandmother and mom, according to Facebook, regularly posted loving posts about her husband Tony – her high school sweetheart from Hedgesville High School. The couple had moved around a lot, according to friends, but had recently returned to Martinsburg to settle down.
Her friend Jeanette McNally said she was in ‘complete shock and grief’ at her loss.
‘Beautiful Denise Salmon Burditus life was taken during the attack on Las Vegas,’ she wrote. ‘What a loss.
‘I’m just praying for comfort for their shattered hearts. Her family…Her adoring husband…Her beautiful children and grandbabies…Her friends whom she loved like family.’
While Gallup School District confirmed that Romero, a secretary at Miyamura High School, in New Mexico, was also among the dead. Superintendent Mike Hyatt sent out an email to district staffers, saying ‘our prayers go out to her family during this tragic time.’
Adrian Murfitt, from Anchorage, also died at the concert, according to his friend, Brian MacKinnon, who attended the festival with him.
MacKinnon told KTUU that Murfitt was ‘one of the happiest people I know’ and that the ‘wrong person’ had died.
San Diego attorney Jennifer Irvine was also identified as one the victims killed in the shooting by her friends on Monday.
Irvine was a graduate of University of San Diego and California Western School of Law, according to her LinkedIn page.
She became a family law attorney and opened her own practice.
Susan Smith, 53, an office manager for the Simi Valley Unified School District since 2001, was also killed a spokeswoman for the district confirmed. Smith was said to be a big country music fan and was the ‘hub’ and ‘heart’ of Vista Elementary School, where she worked for three years.
‘She was wonderful. She had a great sense of humor. She’s patient and kind,’ spokesman Jake Finch told the Ventura County Star.
Vista PTA released a statement which read: ‘Our hearts are full of sorrow for the passing of Susan Smith. She was a wonderful woman, an advocate for our children, and a friend.’
Bailey Schweitzer, of Bakersfield, California, who worked with Infinity Communications, Carrie Barnette, a Pacifica High School graduate and former cheerleader, Angie Gomez, who graduated from Riverside Polytechnic HS, in California, were also named as victims.
A coworker of Schweitzer, Katelynn Cleveland, wrote: ‘We love you Bailey and our work will never be the same.’
Meanwhile, an old friend of Barnette, Ashley Cordelia – who lived just two houses away from the victim, described her as a ‘sweet soul’.
‘What really hurts is that all of those people were having a good time and someone abruptly brought that all to an end. Be free, rest with Jesus, and with your grandparents… we will honor your memory and cherish the times we had with you.’
Rhonda LeRocque, a minister’s wife, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts, had been at the concert with her six-year-old daughter, father-in-law and husband of 20 years, Jason. Her father-in-law had just taken LeRocque’s daughter home when the gunfire began.
A Monday morning photo shows two windows blown out on the 32nd floor. Police believe Paddock was firing out of both
LeRocque died instantly after being shot in the back of the head.
Her devastated family told Boston 25 News that she was a country music lover, who loved her family and dreamed of owning her own company one day. She was ‘close to perfection as you can get,’ they said.
Fellow victim John Phippen, of Santa Clarita, California, was at the concert with his son Travis – a medic – when he was shot dead.
Travis, who was shot in the arm, was able to patch up at least 14 others at the scene, but tragically wasn’t able to save his own father.
John, who owned remodeling and repair company JP Specialties, in Clarita, was remembered by friends as a ‘good man’ and an ‘amazing soul’ who would often like to sing as he worked.
He had a ‘smile that would light up a room,’ friend Thomas Polucki told KHTS. ‘He will be missed.’
Two Canadians were among the dozens killed in the mass shooting McIldoon, 23, of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, and Klymchuk, a mother-of-four, visiting Vegas with her fiance from Edmonton.
Klymchuk was a librarian and school bus driver at St Stephen’s School in Valleyview, Canada. Superintendent Betty Turpin, of the Holy Family Catholic Regional Division, passed on her condolences to the family for the ‘unimaginable attack’.
Premier of Alberta, Rachel Notley, added on Twitter: ‘Our hearts go out to the loved ones of Jessica Klymchuk, an Albertan who was killed in the Las Vegas attack. We are so sorry for your loss.’
PICTURED: Stephen Craig Paddock, right, is the man who killed more than 59 and injured 527 in a shooting at a Las Vegas music festival Sunday night. He’s pictured above with Marilou Danley, who he lives with
Police detained Marilou Danley, described as Paddock’s ‘companion’ and his roommate, in the early hours of Monday morning. They say they don’t believe she was involved in the shooting
Danley (pictured) was initially called a person of interest in the shooting, because she appeared to have checked into the hotel with him. But when police called her after the shooting, they found out she had been out of the country and that Danley had used her ID to check into the hotel alone on September 28
McIldoon, 23, was attending the festival with his girlfriend, his parents told CBC, when he was gunned down.
Fellow festival goer Heather Gooze of Spring Valley, Nevada spread word of his death on Facebook.
‘Friends and family, I am OK. I am right outside of the festival grounds. We are not allowed to go anywhere,’ Gooze wrote Monday morning. ‘I am with a young man who died in my arms! RIP Jordan McIldoon from British Columbia. I can’t believe this just happened!!!’
McIldoon’s parents, who are flying down to Las Vegas, said he was a heavy-duty mechanic’s apprentice and was soon to attend trade school.
‘We only had one child,’ they said. ‘We just don’t know what to do.’
His grandfather Bob McIldoon told CityNews Vancouver: ‘It’s a terrible thing, terrible for everyone.’
Quinton Robbins, 20, of Henderson, Nevada, is another shooting victim who has been identified by family and friends on social media.
His aunt, Kilee Wells Sanders, confirmed on Facebook that Quinton had died on Sunday night, describing him as ‘the most kind and loving soul.’ ‘Everyone who met him, loved him. His contagious laugh and smile. He was truly an amazing person. He will be missed by so many, he is loved by so many.’
Robbins studied at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and worked as a recreational assistant at the City of Henderson.
‘Quinton was a pay-it-forward kinda guy,’ Tyce Jones, a long time friend of the family, told Newsweek. ‘Always had a smile on his face and was a nice guy. He loved his family and loved to coach his little brother’s flag football team. He will be missed.
Dana Gardner, a Deputy Recorder and longtime employee at the San Bernardino County Clerk’s office, was described as a ‘dedicated public servant’ and ‘a great employee,’ by County Clerk Bob Dutton.
She died after being shot twice at the concert, once in the arm and another in the chest, The Sun reported.
‘Everybody here is still in shock. They’re waiting for (Gardner) to walk through the door,’ Dutton said.
About 22,000 people were attending the third day of the country music festival, which featured top acts like Eric Church and Sam Hunt.
Photos of the hotel on Monday morning show two windows on the 32nd floor shattered. It’s believed that Paddock was staying in a large suite or connected rooms and was shooting down on the concertgoers below from both windows.
Paddock’s brother Eric said he wasn’t religious, political or had any mental illness that he knew of
Stephen Paddock, right, seen with his brother Eric in this undated image provided to the Today show
Police were able to pinpoint where the shooter was firing from because the gunfire set off fire alarms in the hotel.
They responded to the room and breached the door using explosives. But by the time they entered the room it was too late – Paddock had shot himself dead.
Inside the room, they found an ‘arsenal’ of 10 firearms.
This morning, police raided Paddock’s home in a retirement community in Mesquite, which he shared with his girlfriend Marilou Danley.
Danley was initially called a person of interest in the shooting, because she appeared to have checked into the hotel with him. But when police called her after the shooting, they found out she had been out of the country and that Danley had used her ID to check into the hotel alone on September 28. They no longer believe she had anything to do with the massacre.
NBC News reports that Paddock was going through a divorce at the time, but it’s unclear who his estranged wife is. Paddock’s brother Eric described Marilou as a ‘nice lady’ who was dating his brother.
Investigations are still ongoing and police have not yet determined a motive. he was not believed to be connected to any militant group, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said.
Heather Melton (left) says her husband Sonny, right, saved her life as gunfire rang out at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday. He was shot in the back and died, while Heather survived. The two are pictured above showing off their festival passes
Melton’s (right) wife Heather, who was with him watching Jason Aldean at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas Village, says her brave and selfless husband died saving her life. Romero (left) was a secretary at Miyamura High School is one of the people shot and killed at a music festival in Las Vegas
Robbins (left and right, with a girl who appears to be his girlfriend) studied at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and worked as a recreational assistant at the City of Henderson
McIldoon’s (left) parents said he was a heavy-duty mechanic’s apprentice and was soon to attend trade school
Married mother-of-two, and kindergarten teacher Jenny Parks, pictured with her husband Bobby, was described by her family as a ‘sweet woman… and a good mother’
Gardner, left, of Grand Terrace, California, worked for the County of San Bernardino. She and Bailey Schweitzer (right), were both shot dead
Rhonda LeRocque, pictured with her minister husband Jason and their daughter. Her daughter was taken away from the music festival by her father-in-law just minutes before the gunman opened fire
Angie Gomez, who was a 2015 graduate of Riverside Polytechnic High School, was one of the 59 victims who were killed in the shooting
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the gunman was a recent convert to Islam. But officials say there is no evidence that Paddock was connected to any international terror organization.
President Donald Trump was quick to pay his respects to the victims, tweeting Monday morning: ‘My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!’
Later in the morning, he gave a press conference on the shooting from the White House, calling the deadly incident a ‘senseless murder’ and ‘an act of pure evil’.
‘We pray for the day that evil is banished and the innocent are safe from hatred and fear,’ Trump said. ‘May God bless the souls of the lives that our lost, may God give us the grace of healing and may God provide the healing family with the strength to carry on.’
Trump plans to fly to Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet with first responders, the injured and the families of the victims.
‘We know absolutely nothing, this is just, we are dumbfounded.’
Eric said his brother wasn’t religious, political or had any mental illness that he knows of. The last time he spoke with him was after Hurricane Maria, when Paddock called to check in on their 90-year-old mother.
‘Our condolences to everyone,’ Eric said. ‘We just don’t understand. It’s like an asteroid just fell out of the sky and we have no reason, rhyme, rationale, excuse – there’s just nothing.’
Records show that Paddock sued The Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas in September 2012, after he ‘slipped and fell on an obstruction on the floor’ and suffered injuries. The lawsuit was dropped in October 2014.
Police in his hometown of Mesquite say that they had no history with Paddock. It’s unclear how long he had been living there.
In a Monday morning press conference, Sheriff Lombardo said Paddock was cited several years ago but said it was a ‘normal practice in the court system’. Lombardo did not give further details on that citation.
Heavily armed police are searching Paddock’s home in a a retirement community.
Mesquite Police Chief Troy Tanner says police surrounded and entered the single-family where Paddock lived with 62-year-old Danley early Monday morning.
He says Danley was not at the house and police saw ‘no movement’ inside before serving a search warrant at the one-story, three-bedroom home in the Sun City Mesquite retirement community, about 80 miles north of Las Vegas.
Tanner says detectives from Las Vegas and North Las Vegas were at the scene in the resort community of Mesquite, located near the Arizona state line.
Las Vegas police sweep through a convention center area during a lockdown Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, at the Tropicana Las Vegas following an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip
Festival-goers, crouch in cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gunfire rained down on crowds
People assist a wounded woman at the Tropicana hotel, which is located close to where the Route 91 festival was being held
First responders and bystanders carry an injured person to an emergency station located at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Ave – one block north of the shooting
Officers are seen outside the Mandalay Bay hotel, where the shooter was holed up in a room on the 32nd floor
Police continue to search for two vehicles connected to Lombardo – a Hyundai Tucson with a Nevada license plate 114B40 and a Chrysler Pacifica Touring with a Nevada license plate 79D401.
Paddock previously owned a home in Isle de Viera, Florida. A couple who lived next door to him, Don and Sharon Judy, say he only visited a handful of times in the two years he owned it.
‘He seemed normal, other than that he lived by gambling. He was very open about that,’ Sharon Judy told Florida Today. ‘First time we ever met him, he handed us the key to the house and said, ‘Hey, would keep an eye on the house, we’re only going to be here every now and then.”
On the times that they visited the home, they say it was sparsely furnished, with only a few chairs, a bed in each bedroom and a few laptops. Paddock reportedly told them that he and his girlfriend would stay up all night gambling. They say they never saw weapons inside the home.
Pictures of the Mandalay Bay hotel Monday morning show two windows blown out on the 32nd flood. Authorities say Paddock may have booked a large room or connecting rooms, and was firing out of both windows. Police were able to pinpoint Paddock’s location because he set off the smoke alarm with the gunfire.
Terrifying footage from the scene shows concert-goers reacting with confusion and then panic as the festival turned into a bloodbath around them.
Video from close to the stage shows people hitting the floor as others crawl to safety or run for their lives. Audio from further back in the crowd captured several bursts of sustained automatic gunfire.
Witnesses said ‘hundreds’ of rounds of ammunition were emptied into the crowd, with Paddock stopping several times to reload as he carried out his massacre.
Above, a view of a typical double room in the Mandalay Bay hotel. It’s unclear what kind of room Paddock was staying in
Paddocks’ former home in Florida is pictured above
Among those shot dead at the concert was an off-duty Las Vegas Metro Police officer. Attendees said a large number of law enforcement and military personnel had been attending the show.
Two on-duty Las Vegas police officers who engaged the shooter have been hospitalized. One of the officers was critically injured, but is now in stable condition after undergoing surgery. The other officer suffered minor injuries. Neither have been identified. Two officers with the Las Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies were also injured in the shooting. One is in critical condition and the other is in stable condition. Their names have not been released either.
All of the ambulances in the area were been deployed to the location, and victims taken to two hospitals.
University Medical Center says they took in 104 of the injured patients, and that four have sine died. Twelve are in critical condition and eight had to be sent immediately into the operating room.
Las Vegas authorities are calling for blood donations and setting up a hotline to report missing people in the wake of a mass shooting.
Las Vegas police said Monday that it will take time to identify all of the injured and dead in what was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The number to report missing people is (866) 535-5654. Police have also opened a ‘family reunification center’ for people to find loved ones at 400 S. Martin L. King Blvd., in Building B.
Las Vegas police say anyone who wants to help can give blood at one of two locations in Las Vegas and nearby Henderson. A blood drive is also being planned.
This was the scene at the music festival before the assassin opened fire on the crowds of as many as 30,000 people
Jason Aldean was on stage (pictured) at the festival when the gunfire rang out. He continued playing for 10 seconds as shots were fired; he was then rushed off the stage. He and his team are confirmed to be safe
This photograph shows a bullet hole left in the wall of a metal building in which fleeing bystanders had hidden