'Deliberate Act of Compassion' a Year After Vegas Shooting

The marquees on the glimmering Las Vegas Strip dimmed their lights for three minutes Monday night as officials slowly read the 58 names of the people killed one year earlier in the country's deadliest mass shooting in modern history. The names of the slain were recited before a silent crowd punctuated by sobs shortly after 10:05pm, nearly the exact time that a gunman in a tower suite at the Mandalay Bay casino-resort opened fire on the crowd of 22,000, the AP reports. The ceremony ended a somber day of events reuniting survivors and the family members of those killed at last year's country music festival.

At dusk, officials, victims' families, and survivors marked the first anniversary by placing roses on a tribute wall and dedicating a memorial garden. The garden was the community's way of reacting to the searing violence, according to the project's creator. "We've pushed back with a very deliberate act of compassion," Jay Pleggenkuhle said. As dawn broke Monday, a flock of doves were released at a ceremony, with each bird bearing a leg band with the name of one of the 58 people slain. "Today we remember the unforgettable. Today, we comfort the inconsolable," Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said. "Today, we are reminded of the pain that never really goes away."

(More Las Vegas shooting stories.)