4th Canadian in Las Vegas mass shooting confirmed dead
Tara Roe, 34, was originally from Brandon, Man., and last lived in Okotoks, Alta.
A fourth Canadian has died in the wake of Sunday's mass shooting in Las Vegas, CBC has confirmed.
Sources close to the family of Calgary-area resident Tara Roe, 34, told CBC News she was among the spectators at an outdoor music festival where Sunday night's shooting left dozens of people dead.
The mother of two young children, who was originally from Brandon, Man., became separated from her husband and friends when a gunman opened fire from 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel across the street from the country music show.
John Bailey, the superintendent of the Foothills School Division, where Roe worked as an educational assistant, released a statement expressing condolences.
"It has been a challenging time for our division, yet we continue to stand together and support one another. We have put our crisis response team in place and they will remain as long as is needed to assist students and staff," he said.
Roe's aunt, Val Rodgers, described her niece as a beautiful soul. "She was a wonderful mother and our family is going to miss her dearly," Rodgers said when contacted at her home in Brandon, Man., on Tuesday.
At least 59 people were killed and more than 500 people wounded by the gunman, who later took his own life. He was identified as Stephen Paddock, 64.
The other Canadians killed in the deadliest attack in modern U.S. history were:
- Jordan McIldoon, 23, of Maple Ridge, B.C.
- Jessica Klymchuk, 34, of Valleyview, Alta.
- Calla Medig, 28, of Edmonton.
Klymchuk was a mother of four and worked at a Catholic school in Valleyview, east of Grande Prairie, as an educational assistant, librarian and bus driver.
A vigil for Klymchuk is planned for Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. MT at St. Stephen's School in Valleyview.
Medig, who grew up in Jasper, Alta., had taken time off from her job at Moxie's restaurant in west Edmonton to attend the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, said her boss, Scott Collingwood.
"This had started to become an annual thing for her. I believe it was her third trip," Collingwood told The Canadian Press.
When news broke about the shooting Sunday, Collingwood said he immediately called Medig, but it went right to voice mail. She didn't answer texts or Facebook messages, he said.
On Monday, he called her roommate, who went to Las Vegas with Medig, and got the terrible news.
'She was kind of a rock'
"She was a little bit of everything around here. She was kind of a rock and, as of Thursday, she would have been our newest manager," Collingwood said. "A lot of us around here have super heavy hearts and we already miss her."
A relative said McIldoon would have turned 24 on Friday and was a month shy of completing a course to qualify as a heavy-duty mechanic.
At least six other Canadians were injured in the attack, including:
- Jan Lambourne of Teulon, Man., who was shot in the abdomen and required surgery to repair her intestine.
- Jody Ansell of Stonewall, Man., who was shot in the right arm and discharged from hospital late Monday.
- Steve Arruda, of Calgary, who underwent surgery and was in intensive care in a Las Vegas hospital.
- Carrie-Lynn Denis of Leoville, Sask., who was shot in the foot.
- Sheldon Mack of Victoria, who was shot twice and was recovering in intensive care from a ruptured colon and broken forearm.
- Ryan Sarrazin of Camrose, Alta., who was shot and seriously injured.
Speaking ahead of the first ministers meeting in Ottawa Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump the day before to express condolences after the attack, "as well as expressing our direct condolences to the families of the Canadians lost in that attack, and the many people injured while they were on vacation."
Global Affairs has deployed a team of consular officials to Las Vegas to assist Canadians.
With files from The Canadian Press