Potential 59th Las Vegas shooting victim’s cause of death still pending
Authorities in California have not yet determined an official cause and manner of death for Kimberly Gervais, the possible 59th Las Vegas mass shooting victim who died in November, more than two years after she was paralyzed in the attack.
The ruling was pending laboratory test results as of Wednesday, according to the coroner’s division of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Gervais, of Mira Loma, California, died Nov. 15 at the Redlands Community Hospital in Southern California. She was 57.
Officials previously said that Gervais had been recovering from her spinal injuries at a nursing facility in Redlands prior to her death.
Quadriplegic after bullet lodged in spine
Gervais was left quadriplegic from a bullet that lodged in her spine during the mass shooting on Oct. 1, 2017, according to her daughter, Amber Manka.
The attack unfolded on the final night of Route 91, a three-day country music festival on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and Mandalay Bay Road. Fifty-eight were killed and hundreds more were injured.
The last victim died on Oct. 3, 2017, according to redacted Clark County coroner’s office autopsy reports.
If investigators find Gervais died from her spinal injuries, she would be the 59th victim of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
The Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning, but a spokeswoman previously said the department was waiting on the official ruling of Gervais’ cause and manner of death before deciding whether to adjust the official toll upward.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.