The bright lights of the bustling Las Vegas strip went dim on Sunday for 10 to 11 minutes, marking the passing of a week since a gunman killed 58 people and injured 527 more at a music festival, reports say.
The tribute began at 10:05 p.m. and most casinos along Las Vegas Boulevard darkened the lights of their marquees, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced in a statement.
After the tribute, marquees throughout the strip displayed a message: “When Things Get Dark, Las Vegas Shines,” the statement read. The message was shown on the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where the tragedy took place.
In a show of unity the marquees of the Las Vegas Strip will go dark at 10:05pm in tribute to the victims and their families. #VegasStrong pic.twitter.com/GOk3TnK7jq — Vegas (@Vegas) October 8, 2017
In a show of unity the marquees of the Las Vegas Strip will go dark at 10:05pm in tribute to the victims and their families. #VegasStrong pic.twitter.com/GOk3TnK7jq
— Vegas (@Vegas) October 8, 2017
Officials said the message would continue in rotation until Monday morning local time.
“I think it’s a cool unification symbol,” visitor Michael Maiolo told the Las Vegas Review-Journal before the lights dimmed. “We’re going to stop in this incredibly busy city where seemingly nothing stops.”
Video of the display obtained by the Review-Journal showed the massive buildings darkening one by one over the 11-minute period. For a brief moment, one section of the strip was completely dark.
The tribute came exactly one week after 64-year-old Stephen Paddock fired down onto a crowd of more than 20,000 people just after 10 p.m. on Sunday from his 32nd-floor hotel room at the nearby Mandalay Bay. According to authorities, the gunfire continued off and on for about nine to 11 minutes.
Paddock was found dead in his room of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before midnight, as law enforcement closed in.
A victims’ fund has been started on GoFundMe by Steve Sisolak, the Clark County, Nevada, commission chair. Other groups providing relief include the local chapter of the American Red Cross and the National Compassion Fund.
