Victims of last year’s mass shooting in Las Vegas will be honored Sunday when Corona officials gather at Eagle Glen Park to dedicate the athletic field in memory of those who lost their lives.
The service is planned at 10 a.m. on the field, 4190 Bennett Ave.
“When the shooting stopped at what was the worst mass shooting in our country’s history, the devastation was unimaginable,” according to a city statement. “Among those killed were several who called Corona home.”
Thomas Day Jr., 54, a native of the city and co-executive at his family’s construction company, and Chris Roybal, 28, another native and a U.S. Navy combat veteran, were among 58 people gunned down by 64-year-old Stephen Paddock at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the night of Oct. 1, 2017.
The athletic field at Eagle Glen will be renamed “Remembrance Field” in the victims’ honor. A plaque will be installed as part of the dedication.
“The ceremony will be a time to reflect on the tragedy of so many lives lost and many others forever changed, to commemorate the impact they had on our community, and to comfort one another in our collective grief,” the city stated.
Last month, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo released a 187-page report that provided a narrative of Paddock’s rampage — perpetrated from a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino — but a possible motive could not be identified.
The killer’s brother, Eric Paddock, told investigators that he believed his sibling was fed up with life and wanted to go out with as much notoriety as possible, according to the report.
Lombardo’s team determined that Paddock was a lone gunman who did not disclose his intentions to anyone prior to the five-minute shooting spree onto the 15-acre space where roughly 22,000 people were gathered for the festival. Paddock killed himself prior to SWAT officers storming his room, according to authorities.
Over 500 people were injured in the attack.