On Sunday night in Las Vegas, at a country music festival, 59 people were killed and 527 people were injured in the worst mass shooting in US history. Several royals have issued statements of condolence for the tragic, unnecessary loss of life.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima issued this statement through Facebook:
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“Senseless violence has taken the lives of dozens of people in Las Vegas. Our thoughts are with the victims, and with all those who are still unsure of the fate of their loved ones. Las Vegas is in mourning. We feel a deep connection with this stricken city.”
Queen Elizabeth II sent out this message:
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“Prince Philip and I were saddened to learn of the terrible attack in Las Vegas. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and those who have been injured.”
King Carl Gustaf sent this message:
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“The Queen and I have, with profound sadness, followed the news of the brutal mass shooting in Las Vegas. We extend our sincere condolences and our heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims and to the American people.”
The Belgian Embassy’s Twitter account tweeted the King sent a condolence letter to the White House “wishing strength and courage to all affected by the terrible Las Vegas shooting”, but I cannot find a press release of it on the Belgian monarchy’s website or social media accounts.
As of time of posting, these are the only royal statements on the massacre, but I will update the post if more are released.
If you would like to read more about the attack, you can do so here. Here is an article about the people who were killed who have been identified. And here is an article about a woman who was killed and a man’s attempt to find her after she went to the hospital. I couldn’t get through these without crying.
The Las Vegas Clark County Commission Chair has set up a Go Fund Me page to support the victims and their families. So far, they’ve raised $8.2 million. Lauri sent in a link to a Go Fund Me page for a man who was injured in the attack. My heart aches for everyone who was killed or injured, and for their families and friends; for everyone who knows someone who was killed or injured; and for all of us. These mass attacks have become so prevalent in the last few years and it’s terrifying, so cyber hugs to all of you guys.
As a PS only because no royals have issued statements about the devastation in Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria: If you would like to support Puerto Rico, you can do so here.
Thanks KMR.
There are such evil people in this world it boggles the mind.
It is untrue to say nonone gives a damn. PoW and Camilla have specifically re routed their tour in order to express their dissatisfaction at the turn of events in Burma.
Whilst I have every sympathy with your sentiments I think you have taken the spirit of mourning behind this forums objectives and used it to make points not appropriate to discussion here at this moment. We cannot mourn all the crisis in the world but we can discuss how each royal family responds to the world in crisis.
so pow has done that… a royal person did that.. right? and kmr failed to make a post on it because of course it was not concerned about Europe or usa or the reasons i stated above.. I’m talking about the priorities we have set on mourning on such scenes..
I’m so shocked and saddened to see that scenario that any other scene of terrorism in any other place doesn’t make me feel bad…
It’s lovely for them to write messages to the US, but I never can quite figure out what merits a comment from the BRF. As far as I know, there was no comment regarding Hurricane Irma which flattened Barbuda and the British Virgin Islands and damaged other commonwealth Caribbean communities. The only thing I read was the Queen would make a donation. Since Harry recently and others in the past have done tours there, it confuses me how the memorial letters work….
In any case, this year has had far too many disasters, both from nature and man, and our hearts break again for those lost and those suffering whose lives are forever changed.
I read somewhere (Twitter) that Harry made a commentary about Carribean countries, in particulary for a school that he visited last year
For some events, they come to ambassads to make condoleances, for some a letter which is known thanks Twitter and sometimes there is nothing;
Harry wrote privately to the PM of Barbuda and specifically mentioned the two schools he visited there. It was reported in local media, but not in the UK. It was a lovely message.
I had a lot of thoughts to share but decided this was not the place – let us hope that we are not exchanging more expressions of sympathy any time soon. One thing I can say is that living in Australia for many years has shown me that there are other options in terms of how society can deal with “personal freedoms” – “Port Arthur” might be a place to start
Oh Oz Shan, I didn’t think I could have forgotten about Port Arthur, someone I grew up with died there. His parents were close friends with my parents and he was like a brother. I can tell you all that having a loved one die that way breaks a family, his parents were never the same afterwards.
If you go there can I ask you to lay a flower for me? Because of what happened I don’t think I could ever go there myself.
Thanks
Cathy – thankyou for asking – I wil think of you and your family if I get to visit there
Thank you
Cathy and Oz: It is heartbreaking to think of such pain that was caused by the lone gunman years ago. The hope that comes out of the horror that happened is the way gun issues have been taken head on in Australia.
Cathy, I am so very sorry to hear that you lost someone whom you considered to be a brother. And, in such a cold and unexpected manner. When violence strikes, it’s not just those who are injured, or killed whom we must remember. We must think of those who loved them and carry pain inside their hearts. This Las Vegas incident must have brought up very painful issues for you.
Oz, how kind you are to remember Cathy’s loved one and others, too.
I guess they revised the number who died to 58. The evil shooter was the 59th.
Thank you so much KMR for this post and providing the Go Fund Me link for the man from my little town who was injured. I just can’t say it enough, I am so proud to be a part of such a supportive and caring online community both here and at MMR!!! And I’m so grateful to have sites such as this to come to now and then to escape the hourly madness that seems to be engulfing the world. There are times that simply logging online is a daunting task, not knowing what horrible news will be waiting there. If anyone here knows of sites that are geared toward light-hearted news or inspiring messages, please share the links with me.
How nice of the various Royal Houses to send kind messages to the victims and their families. I’m just sad that they’ve had to send out so many of these messages in the past few years, not only to the United States but all over Europe.
Hi, Lauri:
So glad to know the link to the Go Fund Me site and how to help the man you know and others.
I heard a few years ago, but only looked at the site a few times then, that one of the former anchors on CNN launched a website of good news. I don’t know if I am spelling her name correctly, but perhaps you remember Daryn Kagen She is from California, I believe. I think if you google her, if the website is still up, you will find it.
There are many positive stories about complete strangers helping others escape the shootings. People did reach out to one another in truly beautiful ways. I think we all know that there are more kind and caring people in the world, but of late, all the tragedies are so prevalent and the news just keeps churning out more and more info that becomes too much to bear.
Wishing you a better day, Lauri. When people stick together and help one another — as you do– the world becomes an easier place to navigate.
Hi Jenny, thanks for the information on Daryn Kagen, I’ll look her up and hopefully her site is still up.
You are welcome. When I used to look at it, some of her stories were quite uplifting. I will google it later and hopefully, it is still running.
Wishing you peace of heart, Lauri. I saw the Go Fund Me page and sent a donation. What a loving couple. I wish them the best.
I see they surpassed their initial goal of $25000 for your guy! It’s always nice to see people coming together in times like these.
I’m reminded of the Mr. Rogers(of mr. Roger’s neighborhood) story that his mother told him in times of trouble “look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
With the hurricanes and now this the stories of the the helpers make me cry happy tears. And think how true those words are
Dear KMR,
Thank you for the post and for the links to those articles. Oh, my God, I cried, too. It is so overwhelmingly sad, There were small things in the story of the man searching for the woman he’d just met at the concert that made me hold on to hope. The biggest thing, of course, was how the man helped the woman’s family so much and would not stop searching hospitals for her. The mention of the comfort dog that was brought to one hospital was so very heartwarming The fact that a local restaurant donated food to the waiting areas also touched me.
I think everyone is grateful for the kind and concerned messages that so many Royals sent to the U.S. And, I am also saddened that so many like messages seem to need to be sent of late.
So much needs to be done to provide comfort and food, water, and medicines around the world. When I think of the devastation in Puerto Rico, I am wondering how things can ever be whole for the people, again. A local woman in my community recently returned from a one day visit to the Island, where she dropped off supplies that many in our community donated. She put everything she could on her jet flight, and the rest, she will send my air carrier, once more flights are able to get into Puerto Rico. She is one person, who reached out to hundreds here. I am sure there are others just like her all over this country (USA) and the entire world.
When I think of so many people in Las Vegas going out to enjoy an evening of their favorite music, I can only wonder how such evil can continue to exist in this world. We all need to care for others and do our own bit to live caring and loving lives. I am reminded of the words: God helps those who help themselves and think: Oh, He truly must bless those who help others, too.
250 Lakota being shot at Wounded Knee was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history but I digress. There’s not much else I can say that won’t be political other than they should just have prepared statements mad-libs style because it’s America. I won’t even get upset if there are royals who don’t release a statement. Thoughts and prayers don’t do anything, anyway.
+1
Thoughts, and prayers, offer comfort to those bereaved.
+1 Ellie
Thoughts and prayers are pretty darn powerful. At least, I believe that.
I agree Ellie but thoughts and prayers do nothing to stop it happening again and again and again in America.
I agree thoughts and prayers are meaningless without any strong gun control legislation which can keep these military grade weapons out of civilian streets altogether. And the tepid, copied and pasted message from the BRF is shameful.
Difficult not to state the blindingly obvious. To do so would be seen as political.
Birdy I’m not American but I feel furious and angry that citizens like myself and others in Vegas, are unable to just go out, enjoy a night of music and dancing and being carefree at a concert and then safely make it back home to their loved ones. There was a 20
Year old young man from British Columbia that was killed- he was the beloved and only child of his parents, the only grandson. Can you imagine the grief his parents and grandparents are experiencing right now, their only child taken away from them by some madman who had military grade weapons and rained down carnage, just because he felt like it!? And worse still, when the young man was only 20, he barely has even begun his life yet.
I agree with Sarah and always looking for the helpers. That man covering that woman’s body as the bullets rained down. I can’t believe that someone so evil could take away all that precious life. Thank you KMR, for covering this. It is getting all too common and when the Westminster attacks happened my mum ran to my dad to tell him. And no doubt for comfort. Hugs back to everyone.