Senate memorializes Las Vegas shooting victims, honors first responders
WASHINGTON — A resolution memorializing victims of the Las Vegas shooting and the bravery of first responders at the Route 91 Harvest festival passed unanimously in the Senate.
The non-binding resolution was introduced by Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., to recognize law enforcement, emergency medical technicians, hospitals, hotels and the victims of the Oct. 1 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip.
“As our state mourns the horrific tragedy in Las Vegas earlier this month, we continue to pray for the victims, their families and their loved ones,” Heller said.
Cortez Masto echoed that sentiment: “The victims, their families, and the Las Vegas community will bear the scars of October 1st for years and decades to come.”
The resolution was passed late Monday.
Thirty-five minutes north of the nation’s capital, Tina Frost, 27, was recovering Tuesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore from a head wound she suffered at the Las Vegas shooting.
Frost, a Crofton, Maryland, native, was transferred to the Baltimore facility from Las Vegas after neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Blum in Nevada approved her travel to the East Coast to recuperate among family and friends.
Family members expect her recovery to be long and complicated, with surgeries, treatment and facial reconstruction. Frost was struck in the head by a bullet during the melee. She lost her right eye and underwent three hours of initial surgery in Las Vegas.
But Frost, a multisport athlete at Arundel High School and college soccer player, surprised doctors and nurses when she emerged from a medically induced coma days later and took aided steps in a hospital room.
Other concertgoers were not so fortunate.
The shooting spree at Mandalay Bay left 58 dead and hundreds wounded. Stephen Paddock, 64, used multiple rifles from his perch in his 32nd-floor room to rain down bullets on 22,000 people attending the country music festival below.
Paddock, of Mesquite, shot himself as hotel security and police approached his room. Law enforcement is still trying to determine the motive for the attack.
President Donald Trump visited Las Vegas after the shooting, and said before a Cabinet meeting Monday that the gunman was a “demented, sick individual.”
The Metropolitan Police Department and other trained officials responded immediately to the scene after the shooter was first discovered by hotel security.
Once the shooting started, police and good Samaritans helped carry victims to safety despite the stream of bullets being fired from up above.
“There are many heroes among us,” Cortez Masto said.
Heller said he is very grateful “for all of the first responders, law enforcement officers, medical staff, and heroes in the crowd who ran toward violence and chaos that night in order to help.”
The resolution recognizes the “countless civilians” who assisted victims after the attack, including the hundreds of individuals who stood in lines to donate blood.
Also recognized were: the people of Las Vegas who provided financial, physical and emotional support for victims; local organizations, businesses and caregivers who provided assistance after the carnage.
Contact Gary Martin at 202-662-7390 or gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.
Senate resolution
The resolution specifically:
*Condemns the horrific attack.
*Honors the memory of those killed.
*Expresses hope for full and speedy recovery of victims.
*Offers compassion to those dealing with the aftermath.
*Recognizes the spirit and resilience of Las Vegas.
*Applauds the dedication of local, state, and federal law enforcement, emergency medical and health care professionals and counterterrorism officials.
