Debate over Halloween tombstones for Vegas shooting victims
Tombstones in a Halloween display paying tribute to Vegas shooting victims taken down after backlash
A Las Vegas homeowner’s decision to use Halloween decorations to honor the 58 lives lost in the Oct. 1 shooting rampage near the Mandalay Bay was forced to take it down after it drew community outrage.
The Nevada resident placed 58 tombstones in his front yard with a banner saying “Vegas Strong” hanging on a wall in the background. The tombstones simply read, “R.I.P.” Some had American flags sticking out of them.
But the display drew criticism from neighbors, with some calling insensitive and offensive.
The homeowner, who did not want to be named, said he decided to take it down after hearing people’s complaints.
“He’s a longtime Las Vegas resident, he knows people who were there [at the concert], he has a client whose son passed away, and he wanted to make a tribute,” said Stephen Stubbs, an attorney who is serving as the his spokesman.
He said his client had no ill intention and likened the tribute to the 58 white crosses that were placed near the iconic Las Vegas sign on the Strip.
“As soon as my client knew that anyone was offended, he immediately took it down…there was never any mal-intent, this was meant as a tribute. Personally, I don’t see how it is any different from the crosses at the Las Vegas sign.”
The community had mixed opinions about the homeowner’s choice.
“I thought it was great, awesome, you know, representing the victims that passed away. I’m very disappointed, I don’t know why they had taken it down,” Valarie Irvin, a resident who lives in the same neighborhood, told Fox News.
But another neighbor said the display made her uncomfortable.
"I was trying to understand, you know, what were the intentions,” neighbor Ali Tril told KVVU. “I could see by the Vegas strong sign they had no bad intentions in doing so. But I just felt so unsettled by it."
Stubbs said the criticism was unfounded.
“This is,” he said, “political correctness gone wrong.”
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