President Trump honored the victims of Sunday night’s shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas during his weekly address and praised the first responders and fellow concert-goers who sprang into action to assist others during the shooting.
“In the wake of such shock and horror, it was a matter of seconds before the goodness of the human spirit broke through. When the shooting began, a mother laid on top of her daughter to shield her from gunfire. A husband died to protect his beloved wife. Strangers rescued strangers, police officers and first responders rushed into danger,” Trump said Friday. “When the worst of humanity strikes, the best of humanity responds.”
Trump and first lady Melania Trump traveled to Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet with those injured during Sunday night’s shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival.
During their trip, the president delivered remarks at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, met with patients and medical personnel, and visited with first responders.
In his weekly address, Trump mourned those who were killed in the Las Vegas shooting, and said the nation will remember “all the grace they brought into our lives and our communities.”
“To all those who lost a loved one, we cannot imagine your pain, or erase your sorrow. Our hearts grieve for you. We stand with you now, and every day after. And we pray that God may carry you through the anguish and sorrow,” Trump said. “We can never fill the void of those who perished, but we pledge to honor them by living as they would have wished — with lives full of purpose, with hearts full of love, and with hope for a better tomorrow.”
The gunman, Stephen Paddock, opened fire on the crowd of 22,000 attending the country music festival from a hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, killing 58 people and wounding nearly 500 more.
Authorities believe Paddock committed suicide before police breached the door of his hotel room, and law enforcement still haven’t identified what drove him to rain gunfire down on festival attendees.
