Lauren Reh, Alicia Mierke and Sue Ann Cornwell embrace during the Sunrise Remembrance ceremony at Clark County Government Center Amphitheater in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2022.
Bridget Bennett for NPR
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Bridget Bennett for NPR
Lauren Reh, Alicia Mierke and Sue Ann Cornwell embrace during the Sunrise Remembrance ceremony at Clark County Government Center Amphitheater in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2022.
Bridget Bennett for NPR
LAS VEGAS — Unless you know where it happened, it’s tough to find the spot of America’s most deadly mass shooting in the modern era.
The sprawling outdoor area is just across from the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino. That’s where the gunman stayed, renting a suite on the 32nd floor, where he opened fire on the crowds attending Route 91 Harvest, an open-air country music concert below.
Today a sign at what is now an overflow parking lot for nearby Allegiant stadium promises a permanent memorial for the site – some day. It also says “please don’t leave mementos in any form…items left here will be discarded.” But some victims’ family members have left rocks with the names of the dead clearly written at the bottom of the sign.
“It’s crazy that five years later there’s literally nothing but a sign there saying there’s going to be something,” says survivor and Las Vegas resident Heather Gooze.
She’s a professional bartender who was working the festival that night. Her bar area became one of several bloody, makeshift triage centers for the wounded and…