Las Vegas, a City in Mourning.

Las Vegas, a City in Mourning.

Natalie Beckstead

On the Las Vegas Strip at country music festival On Sunday, October 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire on a crowd of 22,000. This is categorized as the most deadly mass shooting in modern U.S. history which left 58 dead and over 489 people injured.
The gunman, Stephen Paddock, had 23 weapons, 1,600 rounds of ammunition, and more than 50 pounds of explosives. At the time of the shooting he staying on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel. As of right now the gunman’s motive is not clear, but what is clear is that this is a worldwide tragedy.
The victims of the most deadly mass shooting in modern U.S. history should not be forgotten because this is a national tragedy. The ages of the victims range from 20 to 67. They were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters. They were your firemen, policemen, nurses, and teachers, but they all shared one thing in common, a love for music.
In an interview the Cougar Claw had with Sara Bremer, an 11th grader, she was asked how the shooting in Las Vegas had impacted her life. She stated, “The Las Vegas shooting hasn’t directly affected me. The event, however, was tragic and made me feel sad and mournful for those who have lost loved ones.” The Cougar Claw also asked about how she would feel knowing that in four years her life could drastically change the youngest victim Angela Gomez was only 20 years old at the time of the shooting. Sara said, “It’s really crazy knowing how quickly your life could end. My bucket list can’t really be achieved until my 20’s, so if I were to die before then, I would miss the most diverse and fun time of my life.”
Angela Gomez, 20, (Pictured to the right)who was killed in the Las Vegas shooting on Sunday, October 1, 2017.
Angela Gomez was from Riverside, California and is also the youngest victim of the shooting. She graduated from Riverside Polytechnic High School in 2015. There was a candlelight vigil at Riverside City College where Angela was studying nursing. At the vigil there were a lot of pictures of Angela when she was a baby, prom pictures and high school yearbook pictures. “The lord works in a strange ways and this is his way,” Angie Gomez’ Father, Steve Gomez, told KTLA at the vigil.

According to KLTA, Angie had spent months planning the trip to Las Vegas with her boyfriend Ethan Sanchez. He was with Angie when she was hit by bullets at the concert and she collapsed in his arms, according to the Press Enterprise. “She was a daughter, she was a sister, she was my life,” Sanchez said at the vigil. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Gomez family pay for the funeral arrangements. The GoFundMe raised $78,000 in three days.

Here is the list of 58 victums of the October 1st shooting according to USA today:
Hannah Ahlers, 34. Heather Alvarado, 35. Dorene Anderson, 49. Carrie Barnette, 34. Jack Beaton, 54. Steve Berger, 44. Candice Bowers, 40. Denise Burditus, 50. Sandy Casey, 34. Andria Castilla, 28. Denise Cohen, 58. Austin Davis, 29. Thomas Day, Jr. 54. Christiana Duarte, 22. Stacee Etcheber, 50. Brian Fraser, 39. Keri Galvan, 31. Dana Gardner, 52. Rocio Guillen Rocha, 40. Charleston Hartfield, 34. Chris Hazencomb, 44 Jennifer Topaz Irvine, 42 Teresa Nicol Kimura, 38 Jessica Klymchuk, 34 Carly Kreibaum, 33 Rhonda LeRocque, 42 Victor Link, 55 Jordan McIldoon, 23 Kelsey Meadows, 28 Calla-Marie Medig, 28 James “Sonny” Melton, 29 Patricia Mestas, 67 Austin Meyer, 24 Adrian Murfitt, 35 Rachael Parker, 33 Jenny Parks, 36 Carrie Parsons, 31 Lisa Patterson, 46 John Phippen, 56 Melissa Ramirez, 26 Jordyn Rivera, 21 Quinton Robbins, 20 Cameron Robinson, 28 Tara Roe, 34 Lisa Romero-Muniz, 48 Chris Roybal, 28 Brett Schwanbeck, 61 Bailey Schweitzer, 20 Laura Shipp, 50 Erick Silva, 21 Susan Smith, 53 Brennan Stewart, 30 Derrick “Bo” Taylor 56
Neysa Tonks, 46 Michelle Vo, 32 Kurt von Tillow, 55 Bill Wolfe, 42