‘Heroic’ security guard killed in Las Vegas shooting honored

On Friday afternoon, Erick Silva’s mom proudly showed off the tattoo sleeve that depicted her son, one of the victims of the Route 91 Harvest festival mass shooting.

Tears came to Angelica Cervantes eyes as she spoke about her son, who was working as a security guard during the music festival and helped usher people to safety before the 21-year-old was fatally shot. Cervantes described Silva as a happy young man who would help anyone in need.

“I want him to stay with me always,” Cervantes said at the East Las Vegas Community Center, 250 N. Eastern Ave., where she helped organize a tribute to her son.

People spoke about Erick during the ceremony while a local artist and survivor of the shooting sang two songs dedicated to other survivors. The city of Las Vegas surprised the family by presenting them with a plaque and tree dedicated to Silva outside the community center.

“Our Hero. Integrity — Service — Excellence,” read the plaque.

The night of the shooting, Oct. 1, 2017, Silva was stationed in front of the festival’s stage, a representative from his employer, Contemporary Services Corp., told the Review-Journal in 2017.

When the shooting started, he was among the first of the first responders to help concertgoers flee. In the year following the shooting, CSC’s local training center was named for Silva.

Jay Purves, vice president of CSC Nevada, spoke to the crowd of about 80 people before the plaque was presented.

Purves voice broke as he read a letter sent to him by one of the festival attendees, which he said was one of many he’s received since the shooting. The woman who wrote the letter mentioned the heroism of the company’s security guards, who, like Silva, told people to seek safety as the shots ran out.

“They ran toward the danger,” Purves read. “They were nothing short of heroic.”

Cervantes told the crowd in English and in Spanish that she was honored and surprised to have the plaque dedicated to her son.

Sue Ann Cornwell, another survivor of the shooting, spoke to the Review-Journal about seeing Silva at the concert and challenging him to a dance-off. It was minutes before the shooting, and she was celebrating and dancing with friends. She would go on to tell Cervantes how her son was happy and cheerful even while working at the event.

“I just remember that smile and him finally doing that dance-off with us,” she said.

Before the plaque was unveiled, musician Pat Amico sang two songs he wrote in the aftermath of the shooting. Amico and his wife helped drive several people who were shot to safety the night of the festival.

Amico said he was invited to the event by Cervantes, whom he met about a year ago at the Las Vegas Healing Garden. Like Amico, Cervantes said she processed the tragedy through music, and wrote two songs dedicated to her son that musician Oscar Roman recorded in honor of Silva.

Cervantes stood on the stage while Amico sang, and the two embraced as she sang along to “58 Angels.”

“Fifty-eight loved ones fell that day,” the two sang to the crowd. “Fifty-eight angels are on their way.”

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.