The first six of the 50+ victims of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas have been identified.
Several educators, a nurse, and a police records technician were killed by a domestic terrorist who shot automatic rounds from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on Sunday night.
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One of the first identified victims was Sonny Melton, a registered nurse from Tennessee who shielded his wife, Heather Melton, from the gun fire.
“He saved my life,” Heather told WSMV. “He grabbed me and started running when I felt him get shot in the back. I want everyone to know what a kind-hearted, loving man he was, but at this point, I can barely breathe.”
Scroll through to learn more about the other five victims that have been identified.
Sandy Casey
Another identified victim was Sandy Casey, a special education teacher in Manhattan Beach, California.
Casey and other educators from her school were in attendance at the concert when the mass hooting began.
The superintendent of Schools at the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Michael Matthews, wrote a letter to parents letting them know about the tragedy and how they will support the children during this trying time.
“This is unbelievably sad and tragic,” Matthews wrote. “We wanted to let you know so that you can be prepared to support your children and to help them process this information. As you can imagine, this loss is impacting many of our staff members deeply, and while we collectively grieve, we will be working to provide support to everyone affected.”
Rachel Parker
Rachel Parker was a police records technician in California’s Manhattan Beach Police Department, who had held her position for a decade.
Parker and a co-worker were both shot during the incident, with Parker dying in the hospital.
“(Parker) was employed with the Manhattan Police Department for 10 years and will be greatly missed,” the department said in a release.
The co-worker, a police officer in the department, is said to have received only minor injuries.
Angela Gomez, Lisa Romero, Susan Smith
The final three identified victims are Lisa Romero, Angela Gomez and Susan Smith.
The youngest identified victim so far is Angela Gomez of Riverdale, California. She graduated from Riverside Polytechnic High School in 2015.
Romero was a discipline secretary at Miyamura High School in Gallup, New Mexico. The school confirmed to outlets she had died in the attack.
Smith was an employee of the Simi Valley Unified School District for nearly two decades before her death. Her death was confirmed to ABC by the district.
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