Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

‘In our memories forever’: Las Vegas marks 4th anniversary of Oct. 1 mass shooting

Oct. 1 Sunrise Remembrance Ceremony

Wade Vandervort

Greg Rodrigues, father of Stacee Etcheber, one of the 58 killed on Oct. 1, 2017, wipes away tears during a fourth annual Oct. 1 sunrise remembrance ceremony at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater Friday, Oct. 1, 2021.

Oct. 1 Sunrise Remembrance Ceremony

A person wipes away tears during a fourth annual Oct. 1 sunrise remembrance ceremony at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater Friday, Oct. 1, 2021. Launch slideshow »

Dee Ann Hyatt returns to Las Vegas every Oct. 1, no matter how painful the memories.

Hyatt, 65, was one of six family members at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Oct. 1, 2017, when a gunman opened fire from a hotel tower onto the Strip venue.

A total of 58 people were killed and more than 800 injured in the immediate aftermath of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Two more people died subsequently.

Hyatt and her daughter were wounded, and her brother Kurt von Tillow was killed.

Hyatt was among the speakers who addressed several hundred people today at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater to mark the fourth anniversary of the tragedy.

“I was wounded, and those physical wounds have healed,” Hyatt, of Santa Rosa, Calif., said. “But the lasting scars for our families remain and go on.” 

Other speakers included Gov. Steve Sisolak, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo and Clark County Commissioners Marilyn Kirkpatrick and Jim Gibson. They urged the community to never forget the tragedy and to stick together.

“The pain that is felt by the families, the friends, the communities as an aftereffect of what happened on 1 October doesn’t get any easier,” Sisolak said. “Unfortunately, this tragedy will live on in our lives and in our memories forever,” he said. “And the families and the people that were affected will never be forgotten.”

Lombardo, who is running for governor, likened the shooting and the way the Las Vegas community rallied afterward to the response in New York following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. 

“I think it’s appropriate that we continue to remember the people who made the ultimate sacrifice for our community as a whole,” Lombardo said. “It also reminds us to come together as a community. We’re only as strong as our ability to come together.”

Kirkpatrick, the county commission chairwoman, said the shooting is “a part of our history” and urged anyone struggling because of the shooting or the anniversary to get help.

For Hyatt, it’s important to return to Las Vegas to honor her brother and support others going through the trauma she endured.

“We have met so many amazing people through this tragedy,” Hyatt said. “I think it’s amazing for all the families and for Las Vegas to have a place that honors the 58 (killed). This county and community has been so thoughtful and good to all of our families.”