LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Three years after 1 October, the festival grounds site remains empty and survivors of the shooting say they’re asking MGM Resorts to work with them on creating something that will allow for them to heal.
A fence and black asphalt. Withered flowers holding below the American flag. Dog tags rustling in the wind remembering the victims of 1 October are some of the items that can be seen at the site of that fateful day years later.
ALL LAS VEGAS SHOOTING COVERAGE
“To us, it’s hallowed ground. It’s our Arlington Cemetery for us. It’s important to have that place for us," Joseph Gerrans said.
Gerrans worked security at the Route 91 Festival and still has vivid memories. He says he and other survivors haven’t gotten a chance to walk through the area since the tragedy.
RELATED:Jason Aldean: 'It's hard to believe it's been 3 years since Route 91'
“A lot of us lost a piece of ourselves that night and we want to get it back, and if we could just walk through there as a group, it would mean a lot to us,” Gerrans said.
The future of the site has gone in different directions since the shooting.
A proposed SWAT facility for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was once under consideration.
MGM Resorts says it is still working on plans to have a community and athletic center on the north end of the property and have a space to remember the victims.
In the meantime, MGM says it will serve as a parking lot for games and concerts at Allegiant Stadium.
“To put a parking lot there and to forget about it. It’s like forgetting about us,” Gerrans said.
RELATED: Las Vegas Mayor Goodman reflects on 3-year anniversary of 1 October shooting
He says he’d like to see MGM work with groups of survivors like himself to properly honor the victims.
“I know a lot of us would pay for it ourselves and put a plaque there. Something to remember the 58 we lost that night, plus two, 60 now,” Gerrans said.
