Las Vegas Shooting: Victims Identified Include A Mom Of Four, Off-Duty Officer & Husband Who Saved His Wife
The Las Vegas that has been dubbed as the deadliest mass shooting in the modern US history has left 59 people dead and more than 500 injured. The incident took place at the Las Vegas Village where the three-day Route 91 Harvest Festival is being held.
On the night of the carnage, an outdoor concert was ongoing and singer Jason Aldean was up on the stage. His performance was interrupted by rapid gunfire and many people suddenly fell bleeding.
Terrified concertgoers immediately ducked and ran for cover as horrifying screams are heard everywhere. The police later identified the lone gunman as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock.
Hours after the shooter has been named, the victims have been identified as well and one of the first few names to come up in the news reports is Sonny Melton, a 29-year-old nurse.
When the shooting started, he and his wife, Heather, tried to flee from the scene. But unfortunately, Melton has been shot in the back while protecting his wife from the gunfire. In a statement, Heather expressed despair and described her husband as a loving man.
“At this point, I’m in complete disbelief and despair. I don’t know what to say,” Heather told Fox 17 News.
“Sonny was the most kind-hearted, loving man I have ever met. He saved my life and lost his.”
A mom of four, Jessica Klymchuk, was also confirmed as one of the victims in Sunday’s Las Vegas shooting incident. She worked at St. Stephen’s School in Valleyview, Alberta, Canada as a librarian, educational assistant and bus driver.
Rev. Abraham Joseph of St. Rita’s Catholic Church who knew Jessica well said she was loved by the kids in school and described her as a “lovely person.”
“All the teachers were crying” in the staff room when they were told what happened,” the priest said.
Jessica left behind her second husband and four children who are known to be in Grades 4, 7, 8, and 9.
Adrian Murfitt, 35, from Anchorage, Alaska, also died in Las Vegas shooting. The fisherman was attending the festival with his bestfriend, Brian MacKinnon, who luckily escaped death on Sunday.
MacKinnon said that his friend took a bullet in the neck and has died at the scene. He revealed that a fireman and a doctor came over and tried to save Adrian but he did not make it.
“Everybody who was at that concert really jumped on it, did everything they could. Sadly, he died in my arms,” MacKinnon wrote on Facebook.
On Monday, Brian MacKinnon updated his facebook page with a photo, taken before the shooting started. Apparently, it was the last picture that he and Adrian would ever have.
Our latest update: 2 Alaskans killed, at least 1 wounded in Las Vegas mass shooting https://t.co/pdf8d4Lvhq pic.twitter.com/E3WQ2KKk2c
— Anchorage Daily News (@adndotcom) October 3, 2017
Other victims of Stephen Paddock are Jordan McIldoon, 23, a mechanic, Quinton Robbins, 20, kindergarten teacher and mother of two Jenny Parks, Susan Smith, 53, Denise Salmon Burditus, 50, John Phippen, Dana Gardner, Bailey Schweitzer, Rhonda LeRocque, Angie Gomez, Lisa Romero and off-duty officer Rachael Parker, 33.
[Featured Image by Chris Carlson/AP Images]
