28-year-old Tennessean Sonny Melton has been identified as the first victim killed in the tragic Las Vegas shooting.
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According to reports, Melton’s wife says her late husband Sonny saved her life and sacrificed his own as they tried to escape the gunfire from 64-year-old terrorist Stephen Paddock.
Melton, 29, was one of the 88 people killed in the shooting at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino during the Route 91 Harvest country music festival.
Melton, a Paris, Tennessee native, was attending the country music fest with his wife, Heather Gulish Melton, who told Fox 17 that Sonny saved her life. According to the Melton’s marriage website, Sonny and Heather got married on June 30, 2016, in Mexico and also held another reception in Puryear, Tennessee.
“At this point, I’m in complete disbelief and despair. I don’t know what to say. Sonny was the most kind-hearted, loving man I have ever met. He saved my life and lost his,” Heather said in a statement.
Melton, who was a registered nurse at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital and a financial adviser at Modern Woodmen of America, studied nursing at Union University and finance at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
Union University said in a statement that Melton graduated in 2015 and was president of his Bachelor of Science in Nursing Accelerated class
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What Happened?
Around 10 PM Las Vegas time, 64-year-old terrorist Stephen Paddock open fired at a group of 22,000 concert-goers at the Route 91 Country Music Festival.
Paddock, firing from his 32nd floor Mandalay Bay hotel room, killed 58 and injured over 500 in the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.
Police responded to the scene Sunday night and breached the door to the suspect’s room on the 32nd floor, where they found “numerous firearms”, including rifles. Las Vegas Police Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said there were at least 8 guns and a number of long rifles in the alleged shooter’s room. Paddock was considered to be a “lone wolf”.
About Sonny Melton
Sonny Melton, a 29-year-old Tennessee nurse, was identified as the first victim in the deadly Las Vegas Shooting.
Melton, a Paris, Tennessee native, was attending the concert with his wife Heather, who he married on June 30, 2016.
Melton was a registered nurse at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital and a financial adviser at Modern Woodmen of America.
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