Updated Oct. 5 at 1:19 p.m. ET
A 20-year-old aspiring nurse who fell into her high school sweetheart's arms. A Navy veteran haunted by the memories of war. A mechanic who loved the outdoors and held a stranger's hand as he died. A mom of four with a newborn at home, still out on maternity leave. A husband celebrating his anniversary, taking a bullet for his wife.
Fifty-eight people died in the Sunday night attack on a country music concert on the Las Vegas Strip, not counting the shooter, and more than 480 were injured. It was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Not every victim has been named. "It's a long, laborious process to identify the victims and reunite them with the family members," said Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo.
But dozens of victims have already been identified, and across the country, families, friends and entire communities are grieving their losses.
Here is what we know from official sources, friends and family members about some of those who died.
This post will be updated with further information about the victims as we learn more.
Link, who worked in the mortgage business, was a "funny, kind, loving man, who enjoyed life and lived it to the fullest," his sister Lisa Hiestand told NPR. "He never met a stranger, he was just kind to everyone."
Link loved music. His nephew, Vincent Link, told a local Bakersfield outlet that it was no surprise Link attended the Route 91 Harvest Festival; he had spent the past few months traveling from state to state, concert to concert.
"I love you so much Dad. Thank you so much for adopting me," Link's son Christian wrote on Facebook, "I'm going to do all the things that we talked about but this time I'm actually going to do it."
Link attended the festival with his fiancee, Lynne Gonzalez, who was treated for shock in the hospital.
Bowers left this world doing what she loved: dancing to country music with her friends.
Life was not always easy for the single mother, but things were looking up. "She had a lot of hard knocks in her life," her step-grandmother Patricia Zacker, 82, told NPR, "but she prevailed."
Bowers attended the show with her friends. When the gunshots began, they dove under a table. According to Zacker, everybody was running all over, and nobody could find her.
"It's a horrible, horrible thing," Zacker told NPR, holding back tears.
She will be remembered by her three children, Kurtis, 20, Katie, 16, and Ariel her 2-year-old adopted niece, who were the "epitome of her life," Zacker said. "She was willing to do anything for them," Zacker said.
Distraught by what happened, her bosses at the coffee shop where she worked started a gofundme page to support her family, Zacker said. Their efforts have raised the family more than their goal of $35,000.
Stewart was a passionate country music fan and an amateur singer-songwriter, who uploaded videos of some of his music to YouTube.
One of his videos — a cover of a song from Cole Swindell's album You Should Be Here — has now received thousands of views.
"How you gonna leave me right in the middle of a memory?" Stewart sang.
His family said in a statement that Stewart shielded his girlfriend from bullets and helped others to safety, the Associated Press reports. His sister-in-law confirmed his death to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and friends of his spoke to local TV station KSNV.
His friends said Stewart smiled constantly and was always the life of the party.
Roe was an educational assistant with the Foothill Schools division, which confirmed her death. She was also a model with Sophia Models International.
"She was always a friendly face and had a very caring spirit," the agency wrote on Facebook.
Roe, a mother of two, was with her husband at the show but they became separated during the attack, the CBC reports.
Roe's aunt told the broadcaster that Roe was "a beautiful soul" and "a wonderful mother."
Silva, a private security guard, was on the job at the music festival when the shooting started. He was killed as he sought to save concertgoers during the massacre.
He was stationed in front of the stage, his company told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "He was trying to help people get out," Gina Argento of Contemporary Services Corp. told the newspaper.
One of his friends, Martin Adrian Marin Jr., spoke to The Associated Press about Silva:
" 'He would give the shirt off his back to comfort anyone,' Marin said. 'He was such a courageous man.'"Marin has saved the last text message Silva sent to him that Sunday morning, before going to work at the festival." 'I want to wish you a lovely and productive day,' Silva texted. 'Just know that I am always here.' ""Silva would send text messages like that almost daily, Marin said." 'He was always so sweet and generous and caring,' he said. 'It was not hard to fall in love with his personality.' "
Silva's step-sister Daisy Hernandez told CNN that Silva, who had just turned 21 this summer, "was loved by so many people."
Denise Cohen, 58, Carpinteria, Calif.
Taylor and Cohen, who were dating, attended the Route 91 Harvest festival together. They never made their flight home.
Taylor was a correctional lieutenant in the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, which confirmed his death. He commanded a conservation camp where inmates fight wildfires and had worked with the department for nearly 30 years.
The Associated Press spoke with Cohen's son, Jeff Rees, about his mom, and especially her laugh. "When she would take me to the movies as a kid, I was just waiting to hear her laugh because it would just crack me up," Rees told the wire service. His mom made the people around her feel their best, he said.
"I feel sorry for all of the people in the world who never got a chance to meet her," he said.
Kimura, who worked in a tax office, traveled to the concert with a close-knit group of friends, The Associated Press reports. None of her companions was shot.
Ryan Miller, one of the group members, told the AP they called themselves "framily" — a mix of friends and family.
Kimura was "an amazing woman," he said. "She was a mom to all of our kids; they called her 'auntie.' I have two kids myself, and they were just absolutely devastated that they will not be able to see her again."
Fraser died shielding his wife from the barrage of bullets, his son, Nick Arellano, told The Associated Press. He was loaded into a wheelbarrow and taken to paramedics after he fell.
The AP reports:
"Arellano recounted the story as told to him by his wife, his mother, and family friends. Arellano had been at the concert with them for the prior two days, but chose to head home early, just missing the harrowing scene."Arellano described Fraser, 39, as 'the definition of American,' a man who boated, hunted, fished and snowboarded. Fraser married his wife, Stephanie, 11 years ago, adopting Arellano and one of her other children. The couple had two more children together, now ages 4 and 10. ..." 'He taught me what it meant to be an honest, motivated, driven, loving man to not only family and friends, but even to just strangers, or anyone he came in contact with — just to be a human being to everyone on this planet,' Arellano said."
Fraser worked in mortgage sales and mentored loan officers across the U.S., the AP reports.
Davis, a pipefitter, attended the concert with a group of friends that included Thomas Day Jr., who also died in the attack.
Katelyn Hood, a friend of Davis', wrote on a GoFundMe page that his parents traveled to Las Vegas as soon as they heard he might have been hurt, and had to wait for 20 hours to find out his fate. He was their only child. "They raised the best son," she wrote. "His smile was so contagious."
Courtney Belger, another friend, told the Press-Enterprise that Davis loved softball, country songs and karaoke.
Shipp's mother, Joyce Shipp, told The Associated Press her daughter moved to Las Vegas to be closer to her son, a Marine Corps reservist she raised as a single mother.
They were both country music fans and attended the concert together. "She went to the bathroom and nobody saw her after that," Joyce Shipp told the wire service.
Shipp's son is "not doing great," his grandmother said. Corey Shipp, 23, and his mother's boyfriend both spent hours trying to find her in the aftermath of the attack, according to the AP and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Shipp's brother, Steve Shipp, told the Review-Journal that his sister was "a very happy person" and that her son was the light of her life.
Calla Medig, who grew up in Jasper, Alberta, had taken time off from her job as a waitress to attend the music festival, her boss told the Edmonton Sun.
Medig was at the festival with her best friend when she was shot, childhood friend Lyndsay Perham told NPR. The friend was able to get Medig to a hospital, where she died from her wounds.
"She was a huge country music fan, a loyal friend and the most fun person to be around. She was very smart, hard working and driven," Perham told NPR. "She was unique, special and her loss has affected our small town hugely."
"We lost the toughest, strongest, smartest, most bad ass human," her friend Kat Vena wrote on Facebook. "They don't make people like Calla."
Flags in Jasper, Alberta, where Medig was raised, were lowered to half-staff in her memory.
Rivera was a student at California State University, San Bernardino, where she studied health care management.
Her death was reported by member station KPBS, citing an email from the university. The Las Vegas Review-Journal confirmed Rivera's death with a family friend.
Rivera loved softball and "was and always will be a role model to many," her friend Katie Ortega told CNN.
"I personally got a chance to know her when we spent time together last summer in London during the summer abroad program," university president Tomas Morales said in a statement. "As one of her faculty members noted, we will remember and treasure her for her warmth, optimism, energy, and kindness."
The police department in Shippensburg, Pa., confirmed the death of Bill Wolfe Jr. He coached youth wrestling and Little League and, as The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, had traveled to the Route 91 Harvest festival with his wife to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.
"I talked to several of my varsity wrestlers who are close to him because they had him when they were young," Tony Yaniello, head coach of Shippensburg High School's varsity wrestling team, told The Inquirer. "[Wolfe]'s built a legacy as a coach in the community... There's so many people who are upset about this. He's going to truly be missed."
The Inquirer reports that Wolfe posted a photo of himself and his wife, Robyn, enjoying the concert earlier in the day.
Robinson was attending the country-music festival with his boyfriend when he was shot in the neck, his sister, Meghan Ervin, is quoted by The Las Vegas Review-Journal as saying.
A city of Las Vegas public affairs officer confirmed to NPR that he had been a municipal employee there.
On Facebook, she wrote: "He was the best uncle, brother, son, [companion]/boyfriend anyone could ask for. I honestly feel lost. He was so [happy] and an amazing man in his life! I will never understand this. why him."
A GoFundMe page for the family said that Robinson "loved to cook, entertain, run marathons, travel, go camping, boating, and the outdoors in general and above all surround himself with those he loved and others."
Meadows was a regular substitute teacher for Taft Union High School, from which she also graduated in 2007. A representative of the school district confirmed her death to NPR.
"Kelsey was smart, compassionate and kind. She had a sweet spirit and a love for children," said Taft Union High School principal Mary Alice Finn in a statement. "Words cannot adequately capture the sorrow felt by her students, colleagues and friends in learning of her passing."
"It is with an absolutely shattered heart that I let everyone know that Kelsey did not survive this tragic event. Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers as we try and move past this horrible time," Meadows' brother, Brad Meadows wrote on Facebook.
Meadows' mother also worked in the Taft Union school district, as an IT manager.
Von Tillow, who owned a truck company, loved beer — especially Coors Light — and the American flag.
He was attending the concert with his wife, daughter, son-in-law, sister and niece, all of whom survived, TV station KCRA reports. Von Tillow's death was marked with a procession of golf carts at the Cameron Park Country Club.
"He loved to golf, loved his club, loved his family, loved his country," Von Tillow's brother-in-law, Mark Carson, told KCRA.
Von Tillow's sister, Dee Ann Hyatt, told the Press Democrat she and her daughter survived with injuries.
"My brother saved our lives, basically," she told the Santa Rosa newspaper. "He took a bullet. Because of him we got on the ground and stayed there."
Another relative, Janet Carson-Tenney, told CNN that von Tillow was "the life of the party."
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Ahlers is survived by her husband, Brian, and three children, ages 3, 11 and 14. Her father-in-law described her as a "loving, caring and devoted mother" who ran the kids around from soccer practice to school events.
A GoFundMe page for the family says: "Hannah was beautiful, loving, caring, full of joy and could light up a room the moment she walked in."
Alvarado, a mother of three, was married to a firefighter in Cedar City. The fire department confirmed her death in a statement on Tuesday.
"She always saw the good in others," the department said. "She spent her whole life serving others in her family and community. She and Albert loved traveling with their children and went on many trips, cruises and day trips, too many to mention.
"She was happiest when she was together with her family, especially her children and she would do ANYTHING for them."
Tonks worked for Irving-based Technologent, which posted this message on its website:
"The Technologent family lost one of our own in this tragedy. A great mother, colleague and friend, Neysa Tonks. She leaves behind three boys — Kaden, Braxton and Greysen. Neysa has brought so much joy, fun and laughter to Technologent — she will be greatly missed by all!"
Her younger brother, Cody Davis, wrote on his Facebook page: "I miss you Neysa. You are a great mom, sister and friend. We are trying to understand why and how this could happen. We are trying to process this situation but it still feels like a nightmare."
The life of Thomas Day Jr., who worked in the construction business, revolved around his family. His co-worker Bruce Abbey confirmed his death to NPR.
"I've known Tommy for well over 20 years," said Abbey, who worked with Day at a business owned by Thomas Day Sr. "I've known his dad for about 35 years. It's a family business. Everyone here is heartbroken."
Day was a father of four who loved spending time with his kids. He would often take them out in a speedboat on the Colorado River, and he played softball in a co-ed league with his daughters.
Day loved country music — he attended the Stagecoach and Coachella festivals. The trip to the Route 91 Harvest festival was another chance to spend time together. His children, all in their 20s and 30s, came with him. "They were really looking forward to it. He took his family everywhere," said Abbey. "Everybody loved Tom."
Ramirez graduated from California State University, Bakersfield with a degree in business administration in 2014; the school confirmed her death in a statement on Tuesday.
Member station KPBS reports that she was a native of Littlerock, Calif., and "posted a picture of herself and a friend at the Las Vegas music festival on Instagram on Saturday."
Her cousin Maribel Ramirez, who has established a GoFundMe in her cousin's honor, tells NPR Melissa Ramirez was "a loving and caring person" who was close to her parents and loved country music.
Melissa Ramirez also loved sports — she supported the Dodgers, Lakers and Trojans, KPBS reports. But she particularly loved the Philadelphia Eagles, her cousin says, and Eagles fans from across the country have donated to the family to express their support.
The father of two, who was attending the concert with his wife, Laurie, died shielding her from the bullets. She survived the attack.
His mother-in-law, Lauraine Cook, confirmed the circumstances of Beaton's death to NPR, but said the family was busy making funeral arrangements and couldn't speak further.
Beaton's father-in-law, Jerry Cook, told BakersfieldNow that Beaton "always had a smile on his face" and was an "incredibly friendly, caring and loving" man.
The Beatons' son said on Twitter that his dad "jumped in front of my mom and got shot." Lauraine Cook told BakersfieldNow that according to her daughter, Jack Beaton "put Laurie on the ground and covered her with his body."
The couple had been married for 23 years. They were celebrating their anniversary at the concert, the newspaper reports.
Duarte was a recent graduate of the University of Arizona, where she studied business and was a member of the Sigma Kappa sorority. The university confirmed her death in a statement on Tuesday.
She had just started her first post-college job, as a fan service associate for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, USA Today reports.
Duarte was attending the concert with her brother's girlfriend, Ariel Romero, who was injured in the shooting, the Daily Breeze writes. Romero was hospitalized and her family notified, but for most of Monday, Duarte's fate was unclear; police had located her phone and ID, but not her body, the Redondo Beach newspaper reports. Friends and family were searching hospitals and asking for prayers.
On Monday night, Duarte's death was confirmed.
In an interview with the Arizona Republic, Duarte's friend Maddie Noble described her as as "incredibly driven, passionate about everyone and everything."
Burditis' husband of over 30 years, Tony Burditis, confirmed his wife's death to NPR.
He also told Anderson Cooper 360 that she always had a smile on her face.
"I want the world to know Denise," he told CNN. "I'm going to miss her greatly. Her family is going to miss her greatly. Her friends are going to miss her greatly. She was a great person."
Denise Burditis had two children and four grandchildren, with a fifth grandchild due in February. Tony Burditis described her grandchildren as the light of her life.
Burditus described herself on Facebook as a college student and semi-retired.
She had also served as president of the Association of the United States Army subchapter in Lacey, Wash. Tony is a recently retired soldier, and the couple had moved around the country together throughout his military career.
Both lovers of country music, Tony and Denise had attended the same festival in Las Vegas last year.
"Dorene Anderson had come south to Las Vegas with her family on holiday," North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann reports.
On her Facebook page, Anderson described herself as a stay-at-home wife and mother. "In a Facebook photograph with her husband and two daughters, she just looks incredibly happy," Brian says.
A candlelight vigil is scheduled to remember Anderson on Tuesday at the Sullivan Arena — where her favorite hockey team, the Alaska Aces, plays. Anderson was part of a group of devoted fans who call themselves the Cowbell Crew.
Alyssa Igtanloc, a friend of the family, has set up a GoFundMe campaign for the family. She writes, "Dorene went above and beyond for everyone else and we would like to do the same for her and her family. She was not only a mother to her two beautiful daughters but a mother to the community."
Murfitt was a commercial fisherman in Alaska who was known to many simply as "Murf."
Brian Mann reports:
"Adrian Murfitt never married, but he had a dog named Paxson he called his baby. He loved to hang out with his family. He was at the concert here in Las Vegas with another Alaskan, Brian MacKinnon, who wrote on his Facebook page that one of the bullets knocked his hat off. But then another round caught Adrian Murfitt in the neck." 'Sadly he died in my arms,' Brian MacKinnon wrote."Adrian Murfitt's mother spoke to Alaska Public Radio, which relays, "Murfitt's mother, Avonna, described her son as tall, handsome and shy most of the time. He was a big country music fan and went to the festival annually. This year he was celebrating a successful fishing season."
Patterson "was a mom, who worked with her husband in the family hardwood flooring business in Los Angeles," North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann reports. "She also wanted to be a schoolteacher."
Brian spoke to Patterson's daughter Amber, 19, a college student.
"She was the most amazing person. She just cared for people and always put other people first," Amber Patterson said.
After the shooting, the family went through a long wait to find out if Lisa Patterson was among the hundreds of people who had been taken to Las Vegas hospitals.
"We didn't know where she was. I was expecting to come here and for her to just be injured, but then we found this out, so it was devastating," Amber said.
Mann said Amber was wearing her mother's bracelet — part of the personal effects local authorities had given to the family.
"She was the most beautiful individual," Amber said, "and I'm going to try my hardest to be the best daughter she could ever imagine and take care of my family and I hope she knows that."
Lisa Patterson had been married to her husband, Bob, for 30 years. She had three daughters — the youngest is 8 years old.
Lisa and Bob Patterson were also supporters and volunteers in the Palos Verdes Girls Softball League.
As KPBS reports, a friend of the couple, Andy Tamilin, wrote on a GoFundMe page that Patterson and her husband "spent endless hours donating their time and energy to help the girls of our community."
Irvine "ran a family-law and criminal-defense practice out of an office high-rise near San Diego's El Cortez hotel," according to KPBS in Los Angeles.
"My good friend, colleague, and business partner Jennifer Irvine was killed by a madman at the festival in Las Vegas," San Diego-area attorney Thomas Slattery wrote on Facebook. "A tragic loss of a kind, generous, and beautiful lady. She will be greatly missed."
Phippen was "a handsome guy with gray hair and a moustache," North County Public Radio reporter Brian Mann reports. "He was at the music festival with his son Travis, an emergency medical technician. They were dancing when one of the bullets struck John in the lower back."
Travis Phippen was shot in the arm, but he managed to get his dad out of the venue that was under fire, get him into a car and get him to a hospital. But despite Travis Phippen's efforts to control the bleeding and help his father along the way, John Phippen died.
Brian reports of John Phippen:
"He ran a home repair and remodeling company in Valencia. But really he seems to have been a family man. He had six kids. His youngest daughter is just 14 years old. His friend Leah created a fundraising page for the family on the GoFundMe site and she talks about him just being a good guy — someone who liked to go camping, liked a cold beer, was always willing to help out a friend."
Vo worked for an insurance company in Southern California and lived in Eagle Rock. Her sister, Cathy Vo, told member station KPCC that Michelle Vo had a bubbly personality, a newfound passion for country music and a gift for making friends.
"You instantly loved her, and she could talk to anybody, whoever you were," Cathy Vo told KPCC.
Vo had just made a new friend at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas when the shooting began. That man, Kody Robertson, was the one who called her family to tell them she'd been shot.
The Washington Post's Wesley Lowery reconstructed the events of that night — from the two strangers chatting over beers to a blood-covered Robertson desperately checking hospitals to find where Vo was taken. You can read the full story here.
Hartfield, a Las Vegas police officer, was off duty when he attended the Route 91 Harvest music festival and died in the massacre. The city's police force confirmed that one off-duty officer had been killed but did not identify him; a friend of Hartfield's, Troy Rhett, spoke to NPR and confirmed his death.
A 34-year-old military veteran and married father of two, Hartfield was better known to many as Coach Charles or Coach Chucky — he coached youth football for the Henderson Cowboys.
"I think he was every kid's favorite coach," Rhett told NPR. Hartfield was a big guy, Rhett said, always positive and always encouraging self-improvement and community service. "He was a father figure for a lot of the people he interacted with."
Rhett choked up as he described the number of children who came to a vigil for Hartfield on Monday night. "It's just indicative of who he was," he said. "The community here at Vegas will never be the same having lost such a bright star."
Hartfield also wrote and self-published a book, Memoirs Of A Public Servant, about life as a Las Vegas police officer. He wrote in the book that he began talking publicly about community-oriented policing as an accident — a local high school was short on a speaker for an event, and Hartfield agreed to fill the slot. But he discovered he could start meaningful conversations with young people about police use of force and race relations.
In a forward to the book, Hartfield told his fellow police officers that the perception of policing depends on the interactions officers have with the public every day. "I feel honored that you have allowed me to serve our community side by side with you," he wrote to his colleagues.
Rhett knew Hartfield was at the music festival, and texted on Sunday night to ask if he was OK. When he didn't reply, Rhett just assumed that Hartfield was too busy assisting others to respond.
"He'd be the guy that would be helping everybody, saving everyone first, before he would even think of saving himself." Rhett said. "He's the best of what we have in society ... as a police officer and a serviceman, and then he volunteered so much of his time to the community. I don't know if you can ask more out of an individual. In the short period of time that he was on this earth, he's done more than most people do in a lifetime."
Guillen had given birth to her fourth child — a baby boy — just six weeks ago and was still on maternity leave from her job as a manager at a California Pizza Kitchen restaurant.
She and her fiancé, Chris Jaksha, both major country music fans, had traveled from their home in Eastvale to attend Sunday's concert as part of a birthday celebration for one of their friends, Jaksha's sister Nikki Stowers told NPR.
Stowers said that according to her brother, when the shooting began, Guillen was hit in the thigh. Jaksha was able to get Guillen to a hospital with the help of police, but she died soon after arriving.
Now Stowers is caring for the infant, along with the couple's 18-month-old daughter. Guillen's two older boys — one 13, the other 17 — are with Guillen's relatives.
"I don't even know what to say," said Stowers, her voice thickening with emotion. "She was such a great mom. My parents have a house by the river and she loved going out there and taking the kids. Just being a family person. She was that type of mom who just loved holding her kids. And she loved her two older boys so much — just watching them play sports. It's so unfair that she's had her life taken away."
Parks was a kindergarten teacher at Anaverde Elementary School, where she'd worked for three years. A representative of the school district confirmed her death to NPR.
"She was always enthusiastic, energetic, committed and dedicated," the Westside Union School District said in a statement. Parks was "so proud to be a teacher," the district wrote. "Her spirit was something to behold. The students who were instructed by her knew what it was to love learning as Jennifer gave them the sense of wonder, curiosity, and excitement about all they did."
Parks attended the music festival with her husband, Bobby, who was injured but survived. They have two children.
Bobby Parks' uncle, Steven McCarthy, told People Magazine that the Parkses were "the perfect family." Jenny was "absolutely beautiful and very intelligent, had a wonderful sense of humor and was so kind," he said.
Gomez, who graduated from Riverside Polytechnic High School in 2015, was an aspiring nurse with a passion for children's theater. Gomez's older sister, Tawny Finn, told NPR that Gomez adored spending time with her family — and loved country music.
"I was 9 when she was born. I just fell in love with her," Finn says. "She was such a good baby. ... She'd barely ever cried but when she did, I'd sing to her and she'd put her ear up to my mouth and just stop crying. She was just so wonderful."
When she grew up, Gomez was just as sweet. "There was not a bad bone in her body," Finn says. "My sister was just the greatest person. And I know that seems like something that someone would say ... but she really was the greatest person, with the kindest heart, and her main goal in life was just to make other people happy and take care of them."
Gomez was at the music festival with her boyfriend, Ethan Sanchez. Gomez rarely went to concerts but wanted to see this one — and Ethan, who wasn't as big a country music fan, went to be with her, Finn says. The two were high school sweethearts with a bright future in front of them.
"She just recently got a job last week as a certified nurse's assistant and she was really excited about that," Finn said. "They had so many plans — when they were going to get married, when they were going to have kids. They were the childhood sweethearts that were going to make it."
They wanted to be close to the stage for the Jason Aldean concert. That's when the massacre started. The second volley of shots brought Gomez down; she fell into her boyfriend's arms, struggling to breathe. With the help of bystanders, Sanchez carried her to the road. Several cars flew by before a good Samaritan stopped and gave her a ride to the hospital in his Camaro.
But it was too late, Finn says.
"She was my best friend," she said. "It's just going to be hard to live without her."
McIldoon was a heavy duty mechanic and "self-described, cowboy-boot, tattoo-covered redneck who loved the outdoors," according to a statement given to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. by McIldoon's parents, Al and Angela.
He was attending the concert with his girlfriend, but he died holding the hand of a stranger: Heather Gooze, who was working as a bartender at the concert. She told CNN that several men carried a gravely injured McIldoon to the bar area, then ran out to help others who were wounded. Gooze said she kneeled down to take McIldoon's hand and could feel his fingers wrap around hers. "I felt, like, a squeeze on my fingers and then I just felt the fingers go loose," she recalled.
Soon after, McIldoon's cellphone rang — a friend calling to see if he was OK. Gooze told the broadcaster that she answered the call and learned McIldoon's name from the friend. Soon she was also in phone contact with McIldoon's girlfriend, who was in lockdown at a nearby hotel, and his mother back in Canada.
Gooze said she promised them she would stay with his body until authorities came to take him away so that they would know what had happened to him. It took several hours. "I just sat with him," Gooze told CNN. "I would like to think, if it was me, somebody wouldn't let me sit there alone."
McIldoon's parents told the CBC that he was their only son. "We only had one child," they said. "We just don't know what to do."
Schweitzer worked as a receptionist at Infinity Communications, a company serving the cellular industry. Her supervisor, Amie Campbell, confirmed her death to NPR.
"At work we just called her our sunshine," Campbell said. "She just kept a smile on everybody's face and you couldn't have a bad day around her."
A co-worker, Katelynn Cleveland, told The Californian that Schweitzer had been looking forward to the Route 91 Harvest festival for weeks — and was already starting to plan a trip back to Las Vegas for her 21st birthday in April.
Roybal was a Navy veteran who had served in Afghanistan, NPR's Ina Jaffe reports. His death was confirmed by his mother, Debbie Allen, in a post on Facebook.
"Today is the saddest day of my life," Allen wrote. "My heart is broken in a billion pieces."
Matthew Austin, who served with Roybal in the Navy, wrote, "it breaks my heart and infuriates me that a veteran can come home from war unharmed and events like these occur. Shipmate, you were taken much [too] soon."
The most recent post visible to the public on Roybal's own Facebook account, from July, answers the question, "What's it like being shot at?"
Roybal described adrenaline, fear and anger. He wrote:
"The anger stays, long after your friends have died, the lives you've taken are buried and your boots are placed neatly in a box in some storage unit. Still covered in the dirt you've refused to wash off for fear of forgetting the most raw emotions you as a human being will ever feel again."What's it like to be shot at? It's a nightmare no amount of drugs, no amount of therapy and no amount of drunk talks with your war veteran buddies will ever be able to escape."Cheers boys."
Etcheber was a hairstylist, a wife, and a mother to two children — a son and daughter ages 10 and 12.
Her husband, Vincent, told NPR that the two of them were standing next to each other at the concert when the first round of shooting began. Vincent, an officer with the San Francisco police, urged his wife to flee as he stayed behind to try to assist.
Asked for the best words to describe Etcheber, Vincent did not hesitate: "strong person, great mother." But he said he was not in a state to talk about her in more detail.
Etcheber grew up in Northern California and photos on her Facebook page show her engaged in all manner of outdoor activities — doing a handstand on a beach, getting a kiss from a seal, riding a horse rodeo-style, celebrating with friends on ski slopes, and grinning widely as she hugged her husband and children.
Barnette reportedly worked at Disney's California Adventure park, at Pacific Wharf Cafe.
Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney, confirmed her death in a tweet, calling her "a wonderful member of the Disney family" and describing her death as "tragic." Her cousin, Janice Chambers, told the Arizona Republic that Barnette was an "animal lover" who was "always smiling, happy and upbeat."
Smith was the office manager at an elementary school in Simi Valley. Jake Finch, a spokeman with the Simi Valley School District, confirmed her death to member station KPCC. KPCC reports:
"'Susan was very patient and kind with the students,' said Finch. 'She always had a smile on her face when you walked into her office. She was also incredibly efficient and skilled at her job. And most importantly, she had a great sense of humor. She was just a really sweet, kind, neat person.'" Smith, who lived in Simi Valley, had worked for the school district for 16 years, at five different schools. She worked at Vista Fundamental Elementary for the past three years, said Finch. She was married, and was the mother of two adult children."
Klymchuk worked as a librarian, educational assistant and bus driver at St. Stephen's (Catholic) School in Valleyview, Alberta.
"She leaves to mourn four children who all attend St. Stephen's and her new husband," Betty Turpin, superintendent of the Holy Family Catholic Regional Division, said in a message to trustees, according to the CBC. "She has been an employee of HFCRD for four years. Please keep the staff and students of St. Stephen's and her family in your prayers."
"The scope of this tragedy is worldwide and we are feeling its impact here at home," Turpin wrote.
LeRocque reportedly died in a Las Vegas hospital after being removed from the scene of the attack. The Boston Globe reports that she worked for IDEO, a Cambridge design firm.
She is survived by her husband, Jason, and the couple's 6-year-old daughter, both of whom were attending the concert at the time of the attack and neither of whom was injured.
LeRocque's mother, Priscilla Champagne, tells NPR by Facebook Messenger that her daughter was "a faithful servant of Jehovah" and that she "went on missions to help rebuild homes after [Hurricane] Katrina."
In an emailed statement sent to NPR, an IDEO spokesperson said: "For ten years she cared for her work family in Cambridge with the same warmth and devotion she showed everyone in her life. She will be deeply missed."
Robbins was a student at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas who reportedly "enjoyed hunting, fishing and country music," according to The Washington Post.
At least two extended videos on Robbins' Twitter page show him enjoying wakeboarding.
Deseret News says he was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).
The Post says he was the oldest of three children. It says he was remembered by his grandmother as "just a jewel."
In a Facebook post, Robbins' aunt, Kilee Wells Sanders, said her nephew "was the most kind and loving soul" with a "contagious laugh and smile."
Gardner worked for San Bernardino County for more than 25 years; the county spokesman confirmed her death to member station KPCC.
ABC 7 reports that Gardner was with her daughter Kayla at the time of the shooting and says that Kayla Gardner survived with no injuries.
Melton, a registered nurse at the Henry County Medical Center in Paris, Tenn., was in the lifesaving business, but his employer confirmed he lost his own life. He was at the concert with his wife, Heather, an orthopedic surgeon, who made it out alive.
"He saved my life," Heather Melton told USA Today. "He grabbed me from behind and started running when I felt him get shot in the back."
Romero-Muniz, a grandmother, worked as a discipline secretary at Hiroshi Miyamura High School in Gallup, N.M.
"She was not only an employee of our school district, but was an incredible loving and sincere friend, mentor and advocate for students," Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools Superintendent Mike Hyatt said in a statement.
Casey also worked in a school; she had been a a special education teacher at Manhattan Beach Middle School in Los Angeles County for the past nine years. The Manhattan Beach Unified School District said Casey was "loved by students and colleagues alike and will be remembered for her sense of humor, her passion for her work, her devotion to her students, and her commitment to continuing her own learning."
Matthews emailed school families to say that Casey was among numerous Manhattan Beach high school and middle school employees who were at the concert; the others escaped unharmed.
Parker was also from Manhattan Beach. She was a 10-year veteran of the city's police department and worked as a records technician.
The 33-year-old "was shot and ultimately lost her life in the hospital," police said in a statement. Parker was among four department employees at the concert; one officer was shot and suffered minor injuries.
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