The 58 people killed were American and Canadian, young and old, leading very different lives – but they shared a love for country music

They came from 14 American states – blue states and red – and from two Canadian provinces. They included a restaurant server, a pipe fitter, a lawyer, a roofer, a financial worker, a Disneyland food service worker, an office manager, a hair stylist, a life insurance agent, a singer, a sports coach, three teachers and a police officer who was a veteran of the Iraq war. They were daughters and sons, mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, ranging in age from 20 to 67.

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They were the 58 people who were killed in last Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nearly 500 were injured.

A shared love of country music had brought them together for the Route 91 Harvest festival, where so many spent their last night dancing. When the gunman Stephen Paddock strafed the crowd with bullets, death came randomly: a split-second decision to stand, run or dive for cover made all the difference.

Some perished instantly. Others bled to death. Some gave their lives in acts of heroism: their final acts were protecting others from the spray of bullets. Many left family members who wondered why they had survived when their beloved did not.

The grief rippled far and wide, into cities, towns, suburbs and far-flung communities, blind to class, race or political affiliation. Neighbours were stunned to learn one of their own had died; schools paid homage to former pupils. There will be church prayers and funeral services in boisterous urban centres and in sleepier, less-trodden corners of the country.

The electronic welcome sign for Sutherland, Iowa, which has a population of 600, scrolled a new message: “RIP Carly”. It was a tribute to Carly Kreibaum, 33, a mother of two who lived on a farm.

The night of arbitrary carnage is known so far to have put pins in the map in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia and, in Canada, Alberta and British Columbia.

California, which borders Nevada, bled more than anywhere. More than half of the victims came from the Golden state.



Among them was Kurt Von Tillow, 55, of Cameron Park, who at his country club often wore a hat emblazoned with “USA” and a stars-and-stripes patterned shirt, covering his golf cart with flags every Fourth of July. “He love, love, loved his grandkids,” a friend and neighbour, Brent Hitchings, told USA Today. “They call him Paw Paw.”

Another was Pati Mestas, 67, a country music fanatic. Her son, Brandon, 33, wrote on his Facebook page: “She left this world surrounded by friends, singing and dancing with thousands of people. If I had to write the script myself, I could not have done a better job.”

Cameron Robinson, 28, at the event with his boyfriend, Bobby Eardley, was shot in the neck and bled to death. Eardley held him, a friend and colleague, Brad Jerbic, told the Associated Press. “He was with him when he died. He tried to stop the bleeding. There was so much chaos.”

Some died because of their selflessness. While others ducked for safety, Brian Fraser looked around to try to spot where the shots were coming from so he could shield his wife. He was struck and killed.

Parents had to tell children the worst imaginable news. Bob Patterson’s wife of 21 years, Lisa, was at the concert. After learning of the shooting, Patterson and his 16-year-old son, Robert, jumped in a car and drove three hours from Los Angeles to search. His 19-year-old daughter, Amber, joined them.

They spent 10 hours searching until finally Patterson was approached by an official at the convention centre, where the coroner’s office set up operations so families could come to identify the dead.

“My children, who had been waiting 100ft outside the room, knew when I came back out that she had died by the look on my face,” he told the AP. “My oldest daughter instantly broke down and fell on the ground crying.”

After he and his children went home, he told his eight-year-old daughter, Brooke, that “mommy passed away”.

Chris Hazencomb, 44, was the last to die. Just before 11am on Monday, his mother, Maryanne, gave the instruction to disconnect the ventilator that was keeping him alive in a Las Vegas hospital. Chris had turned his 6ft 5in body into a human shield to protect his best friend’s wife.

Maryanne said: “You don’t expect your kid to go before you go.”