Concert shooting victim ‘saved my life and lost his’
Family, friends of those shot share their stories
A registered nurse from Tennessee who died shielding his wife, a doctor, from gunfire. The only son of a Canadian couple who is now left childless. A California middle school special education teacher engaged to be married.
All were among the at least 59 people killed in the mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas.
Families, friends, co-workers and neighbors shared stories Monday about some of those slain and the hundreds more who were injured after a gunman opened fire on festivalgoers.
Charleston Hartfield
Off-duty Las Vegas police officer and youth football coach Charleston Hartfield was among those killed when a gunman opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas, two of his friends said.
Hartfield, 34, was known as a self-
less, respected leader who brought out the best in his players, said Stan King, whose son played football for Hartfield.
Troy Rhett, another friend of Hartfield’s through football, said he knew from social media that Hartfield was attending the Sunday concert. When he heard about the shooting, he texted him, hoping to learn Hartfield was safe. He never heard back, and Rhett said he learned through another friend Monday morning that Hartfield had died.
Hartfield, who also went by “Chuck” or “Charles” or even “Chucky Hart,” was also a military veteran and leaves behind a son and a daughter, Rhett said.
Hartfield is also listed at author of a book titled “Memoirs of Public Servant” about his time as a Las Vegas police officer.
Adrian Murfitt
Commercial fisherman Adrian Murfitt, 35, of Anchorage, Alaska, was also among the slain, a family member said Monday.
His sister, Shannon Gothard, said the family heard from one of Murfitt’s friends who was with him when he died, though they haven’t received official confirmation about his death.
Asked if the family was holding out hope that he made it after all, she said, “No. No.”
Gothard described her brother as a man with a hearty laugh and a former competitive hockey player who still dabbled in the game.
“His whole life was always around hockey,” she said.
After graduating from high school, he became a fisherman, picking up odd jobs in the offseason.
He had just come off an extremely successful fishing season when he made the trip to Las Vegas with some good friends, Gothard said.
Her brother “was happy to pay some things off and had made some really good money and decided to go out and celebrate and go to the concert and treat himself to something nice and fun,” she said.
Karessa Royce
Karessa Royce, a 22-yearold Las Vegas local, was rushed to an ambulance by a friend after she was shot in the shoulder, said Melissa Rios, her cousin who is acting as a family spokesperson.
Royce, a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is in the intensive care unit following surgery for a collapsed lung. She is expected to survive, Rios said. Royce had no identification on her at the concert, so it took the family some time to locate her, Rios said.
Royce is one of five children and studying hospitality at school.
Royce’s friend “definitely saved her life,” Rios said. Royce cannot speak, but her friend shared what happened with the family and has been in the hospital by Royce’s side since, Rios said.