Survivors remember 1 October four years later in Las Vegas

Updated: Oct. 1, 2021 at 3:15 PM PDT
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Dozens of people gathered at the Clark County Government Center on Friday to honor the victims of October 1, 2017.

Dee Ann Hyatt remembers her brother, Kurt von Tillow fondly.

“I just remember us always at the concerts being loving and having so much fun,” Hyatt said.

She was at the Route 91 concert with her family the day her brother was killed.

Brandy Lewis was also at the concert.

“It was my 40th birthday weekend actually,” Lewis said.

Lewis said when she first heard gunshots, she thought they were fireworks.

“The friends that we were here with, one of them is in law enforcement, they knew exactly what was happening,” Lewis said. “We hit the ground and we started running. Hit the ground again and we ran again.”

She said she only had one thought in her mind.

“I just needed to get home to my children,” Lewis said. “I needed to survive to get home to my children.”

Four years later, Lewis said she makes the journey from Southern California where she lives to Las Vegas for the remembrance ceremony every year.

“It’s healing. To be honest I feel like there’s a piece of us that got left here,” Lewis said. “Coming back it’s a healing process.”

Hyatt spoke at the ceremony and said one of her greatest takeaways has been how the community has come together since then.

“The thing I’ve learned is there are so many people who are good,” Hyatt said. “That do for others. It’s so important and has given us so much hope these past four years.”