Over the weekend, tragedy struck near the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where thousands gathered to attend the Route 91 Harvest Festival. A gunman, identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, positioned from above opened fire on the outdoor music festival. At least 59 are dead and another 527 are injured, according to The New York Times. As Paddock’s background is scrutinized and others argue whether this attack qualifies as an act of domestic terrorism, we need to shine a light on the victims.
Like Angie Gomez. A 2015 graduate of Riverside Polytechnic High School in Riverside, California, Gomez, 20, was described as a “fun-loving young lady with a great sense of humor,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She was a student at Riverside Community College, where she was studying nursing. “She loved her family more than anyone I know and was the biggest animal lover,” friend Veronika Maldonado told BuzzFeed. “She had such a sincere soul and was such a caregiver. She would have been the perfect nurse.”
Her former English teacher and cheer coach, Lupe Avila, also noted her admirable qualities. She started a GoFundMe page to help her family pay for funeral arrangements. It raised $50,000 in 20 hours. Donate here.
Lisa Romero-Muniz, a secretary at a New Mexico high school, also attended the festival on Sunday. She worked for the same district for 14 years. “She was not only an employee of our school district, but was an incredible, loving, and sincere friend, mentor, and advocate for our students in many of the schools in which she worked at,” a statement from Miyamura High School read.
Colleagues described her as an “outgoing, kind, and considerate” person that was there for the studnets.