Survey shows strong feelings about site of Route 91 memorial

A clear majority of respondents to a planning survey said they feel strongly that a permanent memorial for the victims and survivors of the 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip be located at the site of the shooting.

The online survey, which included 15 questions and was distributed by the 1 October Memorial Committee, ran between March 1 and 14. It has been described by committee members as the first of many questionnaires to be distributed throughout the planning process, which could span years before a final memorial is unveiled.

Results of the survey were discussed in detail Wednesday during the committee’s monthly public meeting.

“These aren’t final decisions. This is all just to help us figure out which direction we want to go,” said committee member Mynda Smith, whose sister, Neysa Davis Tonks, was killed in the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting. “There are so many different ways to honor. This is just opening our eyes, and that’s it.”

The attack unfolded across the street from Mandalay Bay during the final night of the Route 91 Harvest music festival. Fifty-eight people initially were killed and hundreds more injured. Two survivors later died from the injuries they suffered in the shooting and were added to the official death toll.

According to Bridget Kelly of UNLV’s Cannon Survey Center, which handled the data collection for the committee, a total of 6,066 people filled out the survey. Nevada residents accounted for 81 percent of respondents, while 18 percent of respondents were U.S. residents outside Nevada and 1 percent were international residents.

Nearly half of the respondents identified themselves as a community member, while 20 percent identified as a survivor, 9 percent as a first responder or community responder, 6 percent as a family member or friend of a victim, and 7 percent as a family member or friend of a survivor.

“Between the impressive response and the depth of information people offered in comments,” Kelly said, “it’s clear that the community cares a great deal about what happens with this project.”

Roughly 65 percent of respondents indicated it is important that the memorial be built at the site of the shooting, while fewer than one in five respondents said the memorial should not be located at the festival grounds.

Among those who said they hope to see an off-site memorial, more than one in four reported to have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the shooting or to have lost a member of their extended family or a close friend in the attack, according to the data.

Kelly said there were several other notable takeaways from the survey:

— Nearly three in four respondents, or 73 percent, rated education about the event as extremely or very important.

— Seven in 10 respondents, or 71 percent, felt it is extremely or very important that the memorial appeal to all ages.

— More than six in 10, or 63 percent, said addressing the issue of mass casualty violence is extremely or very important.

— Six in 10 respondents, or 60 percent, feel strongly that an artistic feature be included in the memorial.

— The ability to leave mementos to honor the victims and survivors was extremely or very important to 57 percent of respondents.

The committee will hold its next meeting on April 28. The meetings are livestreamed by Clark County on its YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.