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The bright Las Vegas lights went out for three minutes, while the names of 58 people who tragically lost their lives during a shooting were read.
The city of Nevada turned off its lights Monday night as a sign of respect for the dozens of people who were killed a year ago, during the deadliest shootout in modern history in the United States.
Names were read to a crowd shortly after 10:05 pm, almost the exact time, 12 months earlier, when an armed man in the casino-complex tower of Mandalay Bay had opened fire on a crowd 22,000 people at a concert.
The ceremony ended a dark day that brought survivors and family members of the victims of the country music festival of last year together.
Hundreds of survivors gathered Monday night (AP)
Jane Matusz of San Diego, who had attended the festival with friends, said the memories of the 2017 shootout were back as she was attending commemorative events.
"There is something very comforting about being with other survivors (and) family members," she said. "It's a very strange club to belong to."
A few hours earlier, the families of the victims, survivors and elected officials celebrated the anniversary of the tragedy by placing roses on a wall of homage and dedicating a memorial garden to downtown.
The dedication ceremony brought together at least 200 people, including the former Rep. American Gabby Giffords of Arizona, herself a survivor of a mass shootout of 2011.
Many casinos have turned off their lights respectfully (REUTERS)
The garden, which includes a tree for each of the 58 victims and an oak tree that represents life, is the only permanent public space created in memory of the shooting.
It was built by volunteers and created a few days after filming as a means of community response to incendiary violence, according to the co-creator of the project.
Jay Pleggenkuhle said: "We fell back with a very deliberate act of compassion."
Las Vegas began paying homage on Monday with a sunrise ceremony, during which a flock of doves was released, each bird wearing a paw strip bearing the name of one of the 58 people killed.
Attorney General of Nevada and Republican Candidate for Governor, Adam Laxalt place a rose on a wall during the ceremony (EPA)
"Today, we remember the unforgettable.Today, we comfort the inconsolable," said Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval.
He added, "Today, we remember the pain that never really disappears."
The festival venue which became a massacre site was not used in the year following the shooting. MGM Resorts International, owner of the Mandalay Bay property and hotel, did not say whether or when it would reopen.
On Monday night, hundreds of shootout survivors formed a human chain around the closed site, linking their arms and hands to express their solidarity. Nearby, a procession of pickup trucks with American flags floating in their truck bed drove the Strip while honking.
Additional report by Associated Press
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