Clark County residents asked for preferences on Route 91 memorial
Clark County officials launched a survey on Monday seeking input from the public on a permanent memorial for the victims and survivors of the 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip.
The online survey will be available on the county’s website in English and in Spanish through March 14. It is the first of many questionnaires to be distributed by the 1 October Memorial Committee throughout the planning process, which could run for years before a final memorial is unveiled.
“It is not possible to overstate the importance of this memorial to the greater Las Vegas community,” Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson said Monday at a news conference. “We are working to create a lasting memorial that remembers the victims, honors the survivors and first responders, and celebrates the resilience of our community.”
Gibson’s district includes the site of the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting, which unfolded across the street from Mandalay Bay on the final night of the Route 91 Harvest music festival. Fifty-eight people initially were killed and hundreds more injured. Two survivors later died from the injuries they suffered in the shooting and were added to the official death toll.
The survey will include 15 questions regarding whether the memorial should be located at the site of the shooting; appeal to all ages; be interactive; or include an artistic feature or sculpture.
During Monday’s news conference, committee members Tennille Pereira and Mynda Smith pushed urged participation by anyone directly or indirectly affected by the shooting, including survivors, family members of victims, first responders, health care workers and other community members.
Smith, whose sister, Neysa Davis Tonks, was one of the initial 58 victims, said: “It is so important that we come up with a memorial that we can all be proud of, one that best reflects the wishes of those affected.”
UNLV’s Cannon Survey Center will handle the data collection. Results of the survey are expected to be available for discussion by the committee’s next meeting on March 24, according to Pereira, the chair of the committee.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.