Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025 | 1:26 p.m.
The Las Vegas City Council designated today as Sue Ann Cornwell Day to honor one of the woman who survived the 2017 mass shooting on the Strip who has spent years tending to the Las Vegas Community Healing Garden downtown.
“We would not be here today, none of this would’ve happened had it not been for our 58 angels. They are the backbone of our healing and the backbone of the garden,” said Cornwell, referencing those immediately killed in the massacre, to a crowd this morning. “The garden has become a place truly for what it is meant to do, not only for Route 91, but for our community, for visitors, for people that have buried loved ones outside of the state … I’m very blessed that God has given me the time and the ability to do what I do.”
The proclamation comes two weeks before the eighth anniversary of the tragedy, where 800 were wounded. It is the largest mass shooting in modern United States history.
The garden, located off Casino Center Boulevard, was built by volunteers on land donated by Las Vegas to honor those killed in the shooting. It opened five days after the incident and has become a gathering spot for survivors, families of victims and others touched by the tragedy.
Inside the garden is a remembrance wall with names and photos of the victims and a waterfall fountain surrounded by a winding trail with benches, donated artwork, keepsakes and 58 trees and uniquely decorated memorials.
Cornwell, along with other volunteers, care for the garden with support from the city.
She was attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival during the shooting and transported wounded concertgoers from the festival site in the back of her pickup truck after the violence subsided.
Denise Burditis died in that truck bed, Cornwell told the Sun in 2022.
During a speech on Wednesday, Cornwell admitted that it took a while for her to become involved with the healing garden, but was encouraged by her husband to pick out a tree for Burditis.
She has taken care of the garden on her own time with a team of volunteers and puts extra effort in just before Oct. 1 each year to ensure that the garden is clean for families and survivors to visit, Mayor Shelley Berkley said.
“The garden has become the symbol for what this city can accomplish when we are united, as well as a sacred place for mourning and healing,” Berkley said.
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