Vice President Mike Pence delivered consoling remarks at a prayer walk in Las Vegas on Saturday, declaring in the wake of the mass shooting in the city, “Today, we are all Vegas strong.”
“In America, we mourn with those that mourn, grieve with those that grieve,” Pence told a group gathered at Las Vegas City Hall, adding that President Donald Trump asked him to be there.
Las Vegas was devastated a week ago when a gunman opened fire on a country music concert, killing 58 people.
Pence’s remarks were short, lasting less than 10 minutes, but in them the vice president told the heroic stories of mothers who shielded their children from the bullets and law enforcement officers who sprang into action to stop the killer.
Reiterating several times the President’s comments about the shooting, Pence said our “heroes give us hope.”
“To the families of these and all the fallen near and far, we extend the deepest condolences of the first family, of our family and of the American people,” the vice president said.
Pence, who is religious and often imbues his speeches with biblical scripture, asked for blessings for the Las Vegas victims and law enforcement officers, and second lady Karen Pence took to the podium to say a prayer after he finished.
The vice president said: “We find comfort in the knowledge that we are united as one nation, as one people, with one voice — united in our grief, united in our support for those who have suffered, and united in our resolve to end such evil in our time.”
After giving remarks, Pence made an unexpected stop at the site of the concert shooting, observing for a few minutes the 58 crosses that have been erected in memory of the victims who were killed by the shooter.