On Thursday forensic accountant Larry Bertsch was appointed special administrator of the estate of Stephen Paddock. All of Paddock’s estate will be disseminated to Route 91 Harvest festival victims.
Las Vegas Strip Bus Drivers Share Their Experiences From The Oct. 1 Shooting
A judge on Friday ordered the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other media outlets to destroy a copy of the autopsy report of an Oct. 1 mass shooting victim, siding with the privacy concerns of the victim’s widow. The report was one of 58 that a different judge ordered the Clark County coroner’s office to release last week to the newspaper in the wake of another lawsuit, which argued that the autopsies of the Las Vegas mass shooting victims should be public. That judge also ordered the coroner’s office to release gunman Stephen Paddock’s autopsy, which has not been handed over. Friday’s ruling pertained only to the autopsy report for Charleston Hartfield, a Las Vegas police officer who was killed during the mass shooting. He was the husband of the plaintiff, Veronica Hartfield. The ruling by District Judge Richard Scotti also barred the newspaper from further reporting on Hartfield’s autopsy details. Review-Journal Editor in Chief Keith Moyer said the company would file an emergency appeal of Scotti’s decision to the Nevada Supreme Court. “These reports are important public records. Previous rulings have held that these records must be accessible to the public,” Moyer said. Scotti’s decision came after more than two hours of arguments, during which attorney Anthony Sgro argued that the widow’s privacy concerns far outweighed the public’s need to know. He also said the Review-Journal only sought the records in the first place “to sell newspapers.” The newspaper’s attorney, Maggie McLetchie, said Sgro’s comments were “strange criticism.” She argued that despite the anguish Hartfield’s widow and other victims’ families have experienced in the wake of the Oct. 1 massacre, the First Amendment still applied. After the judge’s ruling, McLetchie reiterated that the autopsy reports were partially redacted, and that the Review-Journal has no way of knowing which report was Hartfield’s. Scotti said the newspaper can either hand over all 58 autopsy reports to the coroner’s office and receive 57 back, or allow the office’s staff to come to the newsroom and select the document to destroy. “That’s a preposterous demand of a free press,” Moyer said. “This isn’t North Korea. Government officials cannot enter a newsroom and forcibly remove public records, even under a so-called court order.” Contrary to the assertion that the Review-Journal is seeking the information exclusively to sell newspapers, the editor in chief said, the Review-Journal is investigating the police and medical response to the mass shooting. “Autopsy reports are essential to uncovering potential shortcomings in the response and the Oct. 1 investigation, holding institutions accountable for those failures and ensuring authorities can take steps to make sure they aren’t repeated during future tragedies,” Moyer said. “Autopsy reports also help the public evaluate the competency of the coroner’s office, which is certainly in question.”
Douglas Haig, the man who was identified this week as a “person of interest” in the Las Vegas shooting investigation, said Friday that he does not believe the tracer ammunition he sold to gunman Stephen Paddock was used in the mass shooting. (Ross Leviton/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
On October 1, 2017, over 22,000 people came together to enjoy a country music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. On the final night of the festival, a lone gunman opened fire into the crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The LVMPD Preliminary Investigative Report reveals more information about the timeline of the shooting and Stephen Paddock.
Lombardo: “We do not anticipate charges against Marilou Danley”
Crime scene photos contained in the preliminary report on the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting in Las Vegas show the hotel room used by gunman Stephen Paddock at Mandalay Bay on the Strip.
Review-Journal reporters Elaine Wilson, Nicole Raz and Jessie Bekker provide an update on a victim, Katrina Hannah and on the funds that have been distributed to 12 victims from the strip shooting.
Metro acquired five drones from Yuneec in late September. Since then, the department has used them mainly for crime scene documentation. Read more at reviewjournal.com. (Nicole Raz/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Review-Journal reporters Elaine Wilson, Brian Joseph and Briana Erickson sit down to discuss the latest news on the Las Vegas mass shooting.
Forbes Riley recalls the night of October 1 when she was having dinner in the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay. Riley started filming as the shooting occurred on the concert grounds below. Elaine Wilson/Las Vegas Review-Journal
New video of the Las Vegas Mass Shooting from Forbes Riley on Facebook.
The Oakland Raiders reached out to first responders from the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, flew about 30 of them to the game against the Chargers, gave them VIP field access and seats, and had owner Mark Davis meet with them.
Lawyers representing shooting victim Rachel Sheppard explained the details of the lawsuit filed against MGM Resorts International, the estate of Stephen Paddock, a bump stock maker and the concert host at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas.
Rachel Sheppard, whose lawyers filed a lawsuit against MGM Resorts International, the concert host and a bump stock maker, survived after being shot three times at the Route 91 Harvest festival. Her mother tells her story from the Las Vegas Regional Justice Center.
At a news briefing on Oct. 13 in Las Vegas, Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Joe Lombardo said there is no conspiracy with any parties involved where the timeline of the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting is concerned.
One week after the Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas, the Strip went dark for 11 minutes in honor of the victims. One of the victims, Brennan Stewart, recorded this song, “You Should Be Here,” before he died. This song was shared by the family and with permission of the writers, Cole Swindell and Ashley Gorley.
Dan and Susan Watkins of Aliso Viejo, California, witnessed profound acts of selflessness as they attempted to escape the terror of the Route 91 Harvest festival. “I hope that the people who lost people can know that when their loved ones were there, they were with a family of people that are amazing. And they are a member of that family,” Dan Watkins said.
Pati Mestas, 67, of Menifee, California, was killed as she stood near the Route 91 Harvest country music festival stage, doing one of her favorite things. “Pati loved country (music) concerts,” said Isa Bahu, a close friend of more than 10 years. “Brooks and Dunn one of the first (concerts) we went to, and it was one of the best concerts that we went to.”
In addition to going to country music concerts, Mestas loved spending time with her grandchildren. “She lived for those kids,” Bahu said. “She went too soon.”
Brett Schwanbeck, 61, was fatally shot Sunday in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Brett Schwanbeck was no stranger to the great outdoors. As a father he took his two sons on countless expeditions to camp, hunt, fish and ride dirt bikes. “He liked to be where no one else was at. He liked to get lost out in the middle of the woods,” his youngest son Shawn Schwanbeck told the Review-Journal Wednesday. “My dad was the funnest guy in the world to be around.”
Keri Galvan was enjoying the Route 91 Harvest Festival with her husband and their friends when she was cut down by gunfire. The 31-year-old from Thousand Oaks, California, left behind three children. Galvan’s sister and Las Vegas resident Lindsey Poole, described her as a devoted wife and mother. “Her days started and ended with doing everything in her power to be a wonderful mother,” Poole said in a post.
Joe Lombardo gives everyone an update on new details about the ongoing investigation on the Route 91 Music Festival shooting in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas resident Erick Silva, is among those killed in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. Silva, 21, was stationed in front of the stage at the festival Sunday as part of the show’s security detail. Silva worked security for the Las Vegas branch of CSC for about three years. Gina Argento says when the shooting started, he was among the first of the event’s first responders, helping concertgoers to flee until he, himself, was killed.
Tara Roe Smith, a model, mother and wife from Canada was one of the 58 killed in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest music festival. Statements from a modeling agency and a school where she worked in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, mourned Roe Smith. Sophia Models International, where she modeled for 10 years, described her as “a friendly face and had a very caring spirit” in a statement on their Facebook page posted late Tuesday. A GoFundMe has been created to help support Roe Smith’s husband, Zach, and their two young sons. In one day, the campaign raised more than $120,000.
Video taken during the mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip at the Route 91 Music Festival near Mandalay Bay.
Walking into Jennifer Parks’ kindergarten classroom, it was easy to tell Palmdale, California, teacher cared about her pupils. Parks was a little more than a month into her third year of teaching when she was shot and killed Sunday. Parks, who was in her early 30s, received a master’s degree in education in May. “She’s one of those kind of people you meet her and she is so enthusiastic about everything she is doing. Teaching is one of those things she was cut out to do.” said Westside Union School District Superintendent Regina Rossall.
Jennifer Irvine, a 42-year-old family law and criminal defense attorney who ran her own law firm in San Diego, had a great career ahead of her, her publicist, Jay Jones said Wednesday. It was cut short when she died Sunday in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. “She was always enthusiastic and wonderful. She was optimistic about life,” Jones said. Outside of work, Irvine held a black belt in taekwondo, practiced hot yoga, and snowboarded, her LinkedIn said.
California resident Austin Davis is among those killed in this week’s mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip.
The local plumbers and pipefitters union in Colton, California, confirmed Davis’ death, but out of respect for the family declined to give any statements when reached by phone on Wednesday. “Austin, Davis, UA member of local 364, died in the terrible Las Vegas shooting,” the United Association Local 364 union wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday morning. “In his memory, we post these photos.” A GoFundMe page for a memorial fund had raised over $14,000 of a $20,000 goal as of noon on Wednesday.
John Phippen, a 56-year-old father of six from Santa Clarita, California, was among those killed in the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting. A GoFundMe page was created for the Phippen family by longtime neighbors and friends, Leah and Paul Nagyivanyi. Phippen and his son Travis were attending the concert together. Travis Phippen was shot in the arm during the Sunday night attack. On the GoFundMe page, Leah Nagyivanyi wrote: “If you didn’t know John you surely missed out. He was a simple man who enjoyed the simple things in life and having fun doing them.”
Kelsey Meadows, 28, of Taft, California, is among concertgoers killed at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas. Meadows was a substitute teacher at Taft Union High School District since 2012. Meadows graduated from Taft Union High School in 2007 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Fresno State University. “Kelsey was smart, compassionate and kind,” Mary Alice Finn, Taft High principal, said in a statement. “She had a sweet spirit and a love for children. Words cannot adequately capture the sorrow felt by her students, colleagues and friends in learning of her passing.”