Edmonton waitress killed in Las Vegas shooting remembered as 'beautiful soul'

A young Edmonton woman killed when a gunman opened fire on a crowd at a country music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday, regularly attended the outdoor concert, says a manager at the restaurant where she worked. 

Calla Medig, who grew up Jasper, had taken time off from her job at Moxie's restaurant in west Edmonton to attend the Route 91 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.

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Medig is among at least 59 people killed when a gunman unleashed a hail of bullets from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel and casino on the outdoor festival below. More than 500 people were injured in the attack.

When news of the mass shooting broke on Sunday, Collingwood said he immediately called Medig, but it went right to voicemail. She didn't answer texts or Facebook messages, he added.

On Monday, he called her roommate, who went to Vegas with Medig, and got the terrible news.

"She was 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."

Taken too soon

News of Medig's death prompted an emotional outpouring of condolences among her friends and family on social media.

Medig was described as a kind-hearted young woman with a beaming smile.

"Calla was among the kindest and warm-hearted, beautiful souls I have ever had the pleasure to know," Bailey Huebner, Medig's former co-worker wrote on Facebook.  

"Her smile made such a positive impact on my life." 

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Medig, who was in her her 20s, is the third Canadian confirmed dead in the attack.

"A super bright and amazing person was taken from the world too soon," Kennedy Brideau wrote on Facebook. 

Jessica Klymchuk of Valleyview, Alta. and Jordan McIldoon of Maple Ridge, B.C. also died in the shooting.

Calgary-area resident Tara Roe Smith, 34, is also among the dead, CBC News confirmed on Tuesday.

 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.

The incident in Las Vegas is being called the largest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Country music star Jason Aldean was performing at the Route 91 Harvest festival in front of a crowd of more than 22,000 when the shooting began Sunday night.

The gunman, located partway up the 44-floor Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, apparently smashed out his hotel room windows and opened fire, authorities said.

'Albertans stand with you'

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has extended her condolences to the families and friends of the victims from Alberta.

"On behalf of all Albertans, we are so deeply sorry for your loss," Notley said Tuesday at a meeting of premiers in Ottawa. "You are in our thoughts and in our prayers and, in our hearts, all Albertans stand with you."

At an all-candidates forum in Jasper on Monday, the dozens of people attending were asked to observe a moment of silence for the victims of the attack. Although they did not mention Medig's name at the meeting, many in the community are mourning the loss.

"When you're from a small town, every person becomes like family," one Jasper resident said on Facebook. "Yesterday we in Jasper lost one of the family."

The Jasper Royal Canadian Legion branch lowered its flag Monday in Medig's memory.