CAMERON PARK, Calif. — This October marks five years since the horrific mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas in 2017, when 58 people lost their lives.
Clark County and Las Vegas Metro Police Department welcomed hundreds of friends and family members to pay tribute to the victims.
Among those who were killed was Cameron Park resident Kurt Von Tillow. His wife, Mary Jo Von Tillow, and sister, Deann Hyatt, traveled this week to Las Vegas. They were both at his side at the concert that night in 2017.
"Every day was a gift for him. He was a happy person. And he he motivates me to be like that to go out and live your life," Von Tillow said of her late husband, who attended the concert in his trademark red, white and blue.
Von Tillow said she missed her husband more today than ever.
"Am I better at dealing with it? Yes. Can I come back to Vegas? Yes. But specifically, I can come back here to honor him," she said.
The 1 October Sunrise Remembrance Ceremony has become part of the healing journey for so many who lost loved ones in the attack.
"Now, we know their stories, and we can all bond together and support each other," Hyatt said of the hundreds of others who joined them in mourning.
"I think after that night, our world changed in a way that we could never have expected. And not all of it negative," Von Tillow said, adding that so many people have reached out, including total strangers, sending small gifts and prayer cards to let them know they were in their thoughts.
"The people who encourage us to honor Kurt, have made a big difference," Hyatt said.
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