Among the many killed in the massacre on the Strip Sunday night was a young man who worked for the Las Vegas City Attorney’s Office.
Cameron Robinson, 28, was a legal records specialist and a graduate of Basic High School.
Robinson was a “light” in the office, said longtime City Attorney Brad Jerbic, adding that the young man had just earned his masters degree.
"Cameron was a son, a brother, a friend, a partner, almost a step-father to his partner's children," Jerbic said, "Just a beautiful, warm, loving person that no matter who met him would say the same thing."
Robinson was shot in the neck by Stephen Paddock, the 64-year-old Mesquite retiree who opened fire on some 22,000 people attending a country music festival. Paddock broke out windows from his 32nd-floor suite in Mandalay Bay and around 10 p.m., began firing.
Jerbic knew the details of how Robinson died but did not want to talk about those details. Instead, he preferred to talk about who Robinson was as a person.
The young man lived in St. George, Utah with his boyfriend and drove back and forth to the city attorney's office every day.
Jerbic said if there was ever an event or a party or someone needed a volunteer, Cameron was there.
"Cameron's office was literally in the physical center of the office, which is a good metaphor for who he was," he said, "He was very much the center of the office."
Jerbic said the last time he talked with Robinson was the Thursday afternoon before the festival, which started on Friday night. Jerbic said Robinson sent him a picture from the festival just hours before the rampage started.
"There is just pure joy on his face... and to think that less than 12 hours later, he wasn't with us anymore is almost impossible to believe," he said.
Jerbic went with Robinson's mother and sister to the Family Assistance Center at the Las Vegas Convention Center. They were one of the first families to arrive.
They watched as other families arrived for the grim task of identifying their loved ones.
"To watch that slow march of people, arriving at the convention center for that very first step in the process of identification was just overwhelming," he said.
So far, Paddock’s victims' number 58 dead and 527 wounded. Paddock killed himself as police closed in on his office. Police said he fired on the crowd for a total of nine minutes with guns modified to fire automatically.
Jerbic said after tragedies like the MGM Grand fire in 1981 and the attacks of September 11, 2001, he - like the rest of us - was in shock but this is so much more personal because of the loss of Robinson.
"Until Monday, we all had the luxury of turning on the TV and from time to time you read about something in France or something in London or something in Boston... while you grieve for the people who are affected by it, it doesn't touch as much as something like this."
From NPR: Las Vegas Shooting Victims
State of Nevada has set up a phone line to record remembrances of others lost in the massacre. That number is 725-400-4677 if you would like to share yours.
Brad Jerbic, Las Vegas City Attorney
