A new community bench honoring the victims and survivors of the Route 91 Harvest mass shooting was unveiled on Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Park. The bench was made possible by survivor Nicole Moisio, who raised donations to purchase the bench through the Canyon Lake POA’s bench program.
More than 30 individuals attended the unveiling, including survivors of the Route 91 Harvest shooting and individuals who donated toward the purchase of the bench.
A memorial rock garden is featured behind the bench. Moisio encourages community members to paint a rock and place it in the garden.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you to our beautiful community and the sponsors who helped to make this dream a reality,” Moisio said.
On October 1, 2017, Moisio and her husband, Tony, attended the Route 91 Harvest country music festival where one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S history took place. More than fifty-five individuals were killed and hundreds were injured by a gunman who fired on the crowd of concertgoers from the 32nd floor of the adjacent Mandalay Bay hotel.
“Like many in this community, we carry the emotional scars of that night,” Moisio said. “I suffer from PTSD and have undergone EMDR therapy to help my triggers. Surviving an event like this really puts what’s important into perspective.”
Moisio felt compelled to honor the victims and survivors of the shooting. After learning about the POA’s bench program, Moisio sought donations to raise the $3,000 needed to purchase a bench. ”Within a month, we had the exact amount needed for the bench,” she said.
Moisio, who purchased a home across the street from Roadrunner Park in 2019, thought Roadrunner Park would be the perfect location for the bench and a place where survivors who live in Canyon Lake could go to heal, reflect, or just relax and enjoy the view of the lake.
To view more photos of the unveiling, click here.
