Las Vegas Attack Update: The Ones Who Were Lost
Updated Oct. 4 at 11 a.m. ET
A 20-year-old aspiring nurse who fell into her high school sweetheart's arms. A Navy veteran haunted by the memories of war. A mechanic who loved the outdoors and held a stranger's hand as he died. A mom of four with a newborn at home, still out on maternity leave. A husband celebrating his anniversary, taking a bullet for his wife.
Fifty-eight people died in the Sunday night attack on a country music concert on the Las Vegas Strip, not counting the shooter, and more than 500 were injured. It was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Not every victim has been named. "It's a long, laborious process to identify the victims and reunite them with the family members," said Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo.
But dozens of victims have already been identified, and across the country, families, friends and entire communities are grieving their losses.
Here is what we know from official sources, friends and family members about some of those who died.
This post will be updated with further information about the victims as we learn more.
Jack Beaton, 54, Bakersfield, Calif.
The father of two, who was attending the concert with his wife Laurie, died shielding her from the bullets. She survived the attack.
His mother-in-law, Lauraine Cook, confirmed the circumstances of Beaton's death to NPR, but said the family was busy making funeral arrangements and couldn't speak further.
Beaton's father-in-law, Jerry Cook, told BakersfieldNow that Beaton "always had a smile on his face" and was an "incredibly friendly, caring and loving" man.
The Beatons' son said on Twitter that his dad "jumped in front of my mom and got shot." Lauraine Cook told BakersfieldNow that according to her daughter,, Jack Beaton "put Laurie on the ground and covered her with his body."
The couple had been married for 23 years. They were celebrating their anniversary at the concert, the newspaper reports.
Christiana Duarte, 22, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Duarte was a recent graduate of the University of Arizona, where she studied business and was a member of the Sigma Kappa sorority. The university confirmed her death in a statement on Tuesday.
She had just started her first post-college job, as a fan service associate for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, USA Today reports.
Duarte was attending the. Romero was hospitalized and her family notified, but for most of Monday, Duarte's fate was unclear; police had located her phone and ID, but not her body, the Redondo Beach newspaper reports. Friends and family were searching hospitals and asking for prayers.
