MGM Resorts donates land for permanent Las Vegas shooting memorial

A view of the main stage at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival during a performance by 'Big & Rich' a few hours before the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting that killed 58 people injured 800. File photo by James Atoa/UPI

Aug. 3 (UPI) — MGM Resorts is donating land in Las Vegas for the construction of a memorial to the hundreds of people who were killed or injured in the 2017 mass shooting in the city, local officials announced Monday.

The resort owner will donate two acres on the site of the Oct. 1, 2017, Route 91 Harvest music festival where a gunman shot and killed 58 people and injured 800 from a window in the neighboring Mandalay Bay resort and casino, officials with Clark County, Nevada, revealed in a tweet.

“It’s impossible to overstate the importance of this donation and this memorial to the Greater Las Vegas community,” they said.

In announcing the donation, Clark County called for input from the public on the design for “a lasting memorial that honors victims, survivors, and first responders and recognizes the resilience of our community.

“With your input, the committee will develop a request for proposals from contractors who will design and construct the permanent memorial,” they said.

MGM Resorts, which operates Mandalay Bay, said it is important to construct a lasting remembrance for those killed and wounded in the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

“Having a permanent memorial commemorating the victims and heroes of 1 October is vital to our community’s continued healing, and we are honored to donate a portion of the Village site to help bring that memorial to fruition,” the company said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“We look forward to supporting the committee as it proceeds with planning for the memorial.”

The company in 2019 agreed to pay as much as $800 million to settle lawsuits that arose out of the attack.

The gunman, Stephen Paddock, killed himself in a suite in the Mandalay Bay property before he was confronted by police.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here