Denise Burditus posted a photo with her husband, Tony, before the deadly attack

A Husband's Heartbreak: Wife of 32 Years Dies in His Arms in Las Vegas Mass Shooting

Just hours before a gunman opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas, Denise Burditus updated her profile picture online. In the selfie, she stood close to her husband of more than three decades and smiled widely for the camera.

Shortly after that photo was taken, Burditus was dead — one of at least 58 people killed by a lone gunman who opened fire on the festival crowd from his nearby hotel room before killing himself. It was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

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Burditus’ husband shared his grief on Facebook after she died.

“It saddens me to say that I lost my wife of 32 years, a mother of two, soon to be grandmother of five this evening in the Las Vegas shooting,” Tony Burditus wrote. “Denise passed in my arms. I LOVE YOU BABE.”

Denise and Tony were sweethearts at Hedgesville High School in Berkeley County, West Virginia. The couple married and started a family while Tony had a career in the Army.

Now retired, they posted photos of their many travels.

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Image zoom From left: Tony and Denise Burditus Facebook

Denise, a Seattle Seahawks fan, seemed to dote on her grandchildren, posting photos with them on her social media.

On his Facebook page, Tony posted a photo of the couple kissing as his friends expressed their condolences.

“Praying for you and your family Tony,” one friend wrote. “May God please keep his hand on you and your family. I am so sorry for your loss.”

Another wrote, “Oh Tony, I just keep looking at the cool beautiful pictures both you and Denise have been sharing of all the fun you were having in Vegas and at the festival. Your loss is unfathomable. Thoughts and prayers to all of you guys.”

How to Help and Learn About Loved Ones

Friends and family are asked to report missing people believed to be connected to the shooting using the hotline 1-800-536-9488.

Anyone with photo or video evidence of the shooting is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The city of Las Vegas has established a Family Reunification Center to help connect relatives with the more than 500 people who were injured.