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Remembering Route 91: Survivors' mental health changed with shooting

Las Vegas Shooting Memorial
AP Photo/John Locher, File

FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 16, 2017 file photo, people visit a makeshift memorial for victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

The psychological impact of the October 1 shooting five years ago will never be fully measured. 

Sixty people died, some 800 were injured, but thousands more will live with what happened for the rest of their days. 

In our conversations with people impacted by the shooting, the mental health of survivors came up repeatedly. The process of healing the mind and dealing with difficult memories is as varied as the 20,000 or so people who were at the Root 91 Harvest Festival when shooting rang out. 

In this second of four parts looking at the shooting and its impact even five years later —on survivors, on police and medical professionals who cared for victims. There’s more, as well, in the upcoming issue of our magazine, Desert Companion


There are several events planned to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the Route 91 Harvest Festival tragedy.

In the morning, the county and Las Vegas police will host the 1 October Sunrise Remembrance. It will take place at 7:30 a.m. at the Clark County Ampitheater. After the ceremony, attendees can visit the rotunda for an exhibit exploring the community's grief and healing process.

The “ Remember Music Festival” is then starting at 1 p.m. at the Clark County Ampitheater. This is a fundraiser to support the permanent memorial. There is also a reading of the names ceremony at the  Healing Garden at 10:05 p.m., the time the shooting started on Oct. 1, 2017.  

For more events and details, visit  the Vegas Strong remembrance page.

For anyone interested, the  Stop the Bleed program offers free classes at multiple hospitals in Las Vegas.

If you were affected by the shooting and need support, the  Vegas Strong Resiliency Center is still offering mental health services and financial aid.

Shae Turner, Kimberly and Billy King, Craig Nyman, survivors, 1 October mass shooting; Ray Spencer, responding lieutenant, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; Tennielle Pereira, director, Las Vegas Resiliency Center;  Deborah Kuhls, trauma surgeon, University Medical Center

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Kristen Kidman is a former senior producer at KNPR’s State of Nevada and is proud to be from Las Vegas.