Four Canadians among dead,
A model with two young sons and a restaurant employee about to be promoted to manager are among the Canadians confirmed dead in a mass shooting at a country music show in Las Vegas.
Tara Roe Smith, who was 34 and lived in Okotoks, Alta., was there with her husband, Zach, and another couple for a weekend getaway, her aunt Val Rodgers said Tuesday.
“They were there just to have a good time and to enjoy a concert.
“She was a beautiful soul,” Rodgers said from her home in Brandon, Man. “She was a wonderful mother and our family is going to miss her dearly.” Roe Smith worked with Calgary modelling agency Sophia Models International for 10 years, said owner Bill Giofu.
She also worked as an educational assistant at the Foothills School Division. Lyndsay Perham’s childhood friend, Calla Medig, was also shot at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Going to Las Vegas for the festival had become an annual tradition for the country music fan.
Medig, 28, was with her best friend when she was shot. The friend managed to get Medig to a hospital, where she died.
Medig worked at a Moxie’s restaurant in west Edmonton, said her boss Scott Collingwood. When news broke about the shooting, he said, he called Medig, but it went right to voice mail. Monday, he called her roommate, who went with Medig, and heard the terrible news.
“A lot of us around here have super heavy hearts and we already miss her.”
Jessica Klymchuk was also identified as a victim Monday.
A mom of four, she lived in the northwestern Alberta town of Valleyview, working as an educational assistant, librarian and bus driver at a Catholic school.
St. Stephen’s School was planning a candlelight vigil for her on Tuesday night.
“Jessica was an amazing mother who worked to provide her children with as best a life as she could,” Noella Marie wrote on the GoFundMe page, adding Klymchuk was engaged to the “love of her life,” Brent Irla.
Another Canadian victim, Jordan McIldoon, would have turned 24 Friday and was a month shy of completing a course as a heavy-duty mechanic.
His parents, Alan and Angela, said he grew up on a rural property in Maple Ridge, B.C.
He loved hockey, snowboarding and doing tricks on his bike.
“He loved riding his HarleyDavidson motorcycle and driving his big redneck diesel truck,” the couple said. “He loved NASCAR and country music and was rarely seen out of his cowboy boots.”