Mourners at Nevada State College optimistic about Las Vegas

On a chilly fall night in front of the Rogers Student Center on the Nevada State College campus, freshman Natalie Hicks sang “Amazing Grace” as she was flanked by memorials to NSC alumni Charleston Hartfield and Cameron Robinson, both killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Oct. 1.

Hicks sang as dozens of people held candles and locked arms, a sign of unity after the shooting that killed the two alumni and left freshman Rylie Golgart hospitalized with a gunshot wound to her back.

“It’s just a song that brings people together. I don’t know what it is about that song,” Hicks said.

Hicks said three of her friends attended the concert; one found safety by hiding under the concert stage, another under a car.

“It really hit home because they were lucky, but others weren’t,” Hicks said, wiping away tears.

The third friend at the concert, Quinton Robbins, 20, was the second-youngest person killed.

Amid the sadness, Christine Sapone, a friend of Golgart’s, gave an announcement about the 18-year-old student’s condition.

“She had a successful surgery this weekend, and things are looking really promising,” Sapone said, adding, “I’m hopeful that (Golgart) will be back on this campus within the next semester or two.”

Freshman Melanie Croft, vice president of the school’s Student Alliance, said she was working on a homework project the night of the shooting and followed the disaster on social media.

“It’s one of those things like, ‘It can’t happen here; it’ll never happen here,’ then it does,” said Croft, who recently moved to Las Vegas for the start of this school year. “We talk about these things a lot: How is this going to affect us? How can we be prepared for these kinds of situations? What can we do to help each other afterwards? It’s always a big question.”

After a speech by the Nevada State dean of students, Dr. Richard Yao, the names of the victims were read aloud and members of the crowd were invited to speak.

Several students addressed the crowd, some coming to tears, others offering messages of support.

Denise Lahav said she worried the shooting would make it more difficult for people to enjoy a night out, but she was resolute that Las Vegas’ status as an entertainment destination would not go away.

“I think it’s important to not give in to fear, and to keep doing what Las Vegas does,” said Lahav, who is not a student and heard about the vigil on Facebook. “A lot of things are going to change, but I think it’s important to keep doing what we do: giving the world a place that’s full of love and light.”

Frances Hampton, a mother who attends night classes at the college, reflected on how the event has brought people closer.

“They talk about Las Vegas being a transplant city and everyone here is from somewhere else, and it kind of gives the undertone that it’s an every-man-for-himself city,” Hampton said. “I think through this event, it really showed that there are a lot of people here who know how to come together in times like this.”

Contact Diego Mendoza-Moyers at dmendozamoyers@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0496. Follow @dmendozamoyers on Twitter.