National Finals Rodeo cancels Thursday performance due to UNLV shooting

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The first performance for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been canceled.

Officials from the Las Vegas Events Board of Trustees and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Board of Directors made the announcement on Wednesday night. A press release states the cancellation was "in respect for those who lost their lives on December 6. The NFR will take a day of mourning."

"All of us are saddened by the events that occurred today," said LVE President Tim Keener. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have been affected. We are grateful to all of the first responders, police, security, and the UNLV community for their actions today."

PRCA CEO Tom Glause also called the shooting a "senseless act of violence".

"Today's shooting on the UNLV campus was alarming and deeply troubling," Glause said. "The PRCA is grateful for the rapid, professional response from law enforcement and first responders. Our thoughts, right now, are focused on the victims."

Steve Hill, the president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said resort partners have offered rooms to students who have been displaced as well as partners like the National Finals Rodeo who "responded with sensitivity and have canceled or postponed events in light of this tragedy."

"Las Vegas is a tourism destination. But at our core, we are a community," Hill said. "A community of people who live here, work here, and won't be defined by the senseless tragedy we experienced today. We stand united as a community that will heal, support one another, and emerge stronger."

According to event organizers, additional details will be announced on Thursday morning.

The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas event at the Las Vegas Convention Center will continue as planned and open on Thursday.