Nearly 600 Arizonans who survived Las Vegas shooting eligible for aid
Aug 2, 2018, 4:45 AM
FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2017, file photo, people visit a makeshift memorial for victims of a mass shooting in Las Vegas. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is being asked to serve as chairman of a committee to design, fund and build a memorial to the victims of the Oct. 1, 2017, attack on the Las Vegas Strip. The Clark County Commission agreed Tuesday, July 17, 2018, to extend the offer to the outgoing governor to head up the effort to pay tribute to the victims and the heroes who emerged from the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
(AP Photo/John Locher, File)
PHOENIX — Nearly 600 people in Arizona who survived the Las Vegas massacre are eligible to apply for a program that could provide them with funds to help pay for medical bills that stemmed from the October 2017 incident.
Katie Conner, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Attorney General’s office, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday that 595 Arizonans were eligible to apply for the Nevada Victims of Crime Program. So far, only 82 people have applied.
The program could “provide funds that may help reimburse survivors for medical bills or counseling co-pays not covered by insurance,” Conner said.
Conner said the state of Nevada was continuing their national outreach to ensure that everyone in attendance knows how to apply to the program.
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“A lot of times victims don’t think they have been impacted by an event until months or even years later,” she said.
“That’s why it’s really important to make sure anyone who attended the concert last year from Arizona gets registered. Even if you don’t think you need help now, in the future you might need it.”
The deadline to apply for the program is Oct. 1, nearly a full year after 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on 22,000 concertgoers from a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Fifty-eight people were killed and 851 more were injured, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Paddock was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound shortly after the shooting ended.
Survivors can apply to the program online at VegasStrongRC.org, by emailing vegasstrongresiliencycenter@clarkcountynv.gov or by calling 1-833-299-2433.
