Convention-goers at the Wedding MBA show gather flowers that were donated by Mayesh Wholesale Florists and deliver them to the Family Assistance Center, located at the Las Vegas Convention Center. LVMPD desigated the center for those needing help locating and retreiving loved ones involved in the mass shooting that occured Sunday night during a country musical festival, Monday Oct. 2, 2017.
Monday, Oct. 2, 2017 | 5:15 p.m.
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People poured into the Las Vegas Convention Center on Monday afternoon. Some carrying cases of water over their heads, some with stacks of blankets bundled in their arms and some with boxes of food, but all wanting to help.
Metro Police transformed part of the convention center into a family assistance center for those affected by Sunday night’s mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay that left at least 59 dead and 527 injured.
A white van pulled up to the entrance, parking behind a firetruck. People jumped out, ran around to the back and swung the double-doors open. Out came hundreds of flowers of all different types. Dozens of people carried the flowers into the building.
Prior to becoming a place of refuge for families involved in the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, the convention hall was scheduled to host the Wedding MBA convention, where 5,000 wedding vendors ranging from DJs to florists and planners converge on the four-day event.
“We decided to come together and have our fellow florists create a floral installation for the victims and families of the tragedy,” said Nathalie Rivera, who works for Intrigue Design and Decor and Fresh Floral Designs in the Northeast U.S. “About 100 designers came together to create the floral installation for the victims.”
The flowers were donated by Mayesh Wholesale Florist, a global company with a warehouse in Las Vegas.
“I’m from Nashville, so country music is very dear to my heart,” said Rivera, who watched the footage of the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival from her hotel room inside the Aria. “It’s one of those events that touches home because any of us could have been there. It’s a family event. There were children and families there so that hit close to home. It felt surreal. It was a shock and it was something you could never prepare for.”
The response by those around the valley offering assistance during the tragedy has been so overwhelming that some are finding it difficult to know how to help.
“The hospitals were pretty full and there were some limitations to what we could do there,” said Drew Hansen, administrator of the Nevada Bright On Hospice. “Then the blood donation centers were all full. We’ve been on a goose chase today going around to different places seeing how we can help.”
Hansen and a group of volunteers from his hospice were carrying cases of water and supplies for first responders helping at the convention center.
“I found out early this morning,” Hansen said. “I was completely shocked that someone could do that, but today it’s been really comforting seeing all the response.”
Blood donation centers around town had lines wrapping around the building with appointments booked as far as next Monday. A Go Fund Me account started by Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak had raised more than $1.9 million as of about 5 p.m. toward the $2 million goal. Donate here.
“As shocking as it was to hear about the bad and what that guy did, it’s equally comforting to see all the good,” Hansen said. “For us it’s been a day of shock — scary in how bad it was but also how much good there is too here.”
