Las Vegas Strip dims lights for 11 minutes to honor shooting victims
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Doug Criss, CNN
(CNN) — Hotels along the Las Vegas Strip dimmed their marquees Sunday night to honor victims of the mass shooting that shook the city and the nation exactly a week earlier.
The lights, along with the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign at the Strip’s south end, were dimmed at 10:05 p.m. for 11 minutes — or roughly how long the October 1 shootings lasted.
According to CNN affiliate KSNV, the dimming of the lights marked the moment a week earlier when Stephen Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on an outdoor country music festival, killing 58 people and injuring nearly 500.
A week later, investigators still haven’t found a motive for Paddock’s rampage.
Many signs and marquees in Las Vegas have posted thanks to first responders and words of encouragement — such as #VegasStrong and “When things get dark, Las Vegas shines” — as the city tries to heal.
Lights on the Strip were also darkened briefly the night after the shootings.
Las Vegas casinos and hotels have dimmed their lights in past years for Earth Hour observances, including this past March.
An array of 58 white crosses — one for each slain victim — also was installed last week near the Las Vegas welcome sign as a memorial.
The crosses were created by retired carpenter Greg Zanis, who also erected such memorials after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, and the Columbine High School and Aurora movie theater shootings in Colorado. Zanis has also made crosses for victims of gun violence in Chicago.