UPDATE ON LASD PERSONNEL IN THE NATION’S WORST MASS SHOOTING
We now believe that more than one hundred and thirty-one (131) LASD employees are accounted for in the aftermath of what has been declared the worst mass shooting in United States history. Two members of our Department remain hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Sergeant Andy Dahring is in stable condition. He has served the LASD for 21 years and is currently assigned to our Administrative Services Division as the Board of Supervisors Liaison. Another of our personnel, Deputy Lori Kammer, was upgraded from critical to stable condition. She has 16 years of service with the LASD and is currently assigned to Norwalk Station as a School Resource Officer. We are still receiving information on family members of personnel who were injured or killed.
As of 1400 today, at least 59 people have been killed and more than 527 have been injured. We continue to pray for all the families who are profoundly impacted by this incident. The images depicting the scene from the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival outside the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Resort are disturbing. We do not have to imagine what it was like for the more than 22,000 people gathered for the concert when hundreds of rounds were fired at a captive crowd of people by the suspect from the 32nd story of the hotel. Cell phone video taken by the concert-goers captures the multiple rounds of gunfire and the ensuing panic. However, already great acts of humanitarian sacrifice, service and valor by concert-goers, many who were off-duty law enforcement, are emerging as well. The press briefing at the White House detailed numerous accounts of people carrying the wounded to their cars and trucks to transport victims to the hospital and described specific accounts of off-duty police acting instinctively as human shields to protect others from the bullets. This is a testament to our profession and to the human spirit.
People across the nation and especially here in Los Angeles County have expressed the desire to make a positive impact and to help others. The LASD has reached out to the Red Cross and offered our facilities as a possible location for a blood donation site, however the Red Cross has currently deployed its blood bank resources to Las Vegas. We can still donate by contacting the Red Cross and making an appointment at a local blood donation center.
The LASD remains vigilant in accounting for the whereabouts and well-being of our Department members and their families. We are requesting that if you are aware of personnel who are in Las Vegas, to please notify our DOC. Our Department has set up a command post in Las Vegas to assist with providing services for LASD personnel and also maintain coordination with local law enforcement. The Psychological Services Bureau and Injury and Health Support (IHS) are deployed to Las Vegas as a resource for our employees and their families.
I will be traveling this afternoon to Las Vegas and take with me your support and prayers for the people of Las Vegas and our LASD family. While we have accounted for more than 131 personnel, this number does not account for the hundreds of friends, family and colleagues who share our concern for the welfare of the individuals who remain hospitalized and all those who bore witness to this terrible event.
