When people ask where in Vegas was the shooting, they are almost always looking for the specific geography of the October 1, 2017, massacre. It wasn't just "the Strip." It was a very specific, three-node layout involving a hotel, a concert lot, and a fuel tank farm. Understanding the physical layout is actually the only way to make sense of how such a tragedy happened in the first place.
The shooting happened at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. Specifically, the gunfire came from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and targeted the Route 91 Harvest Festival, which was held at the Las Vegas Village.
That's the short answer. But the logistics of that night were a nightmare of geography.
The bird's-eye view of the attack site
The Mandalay Bay sits on the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard. Across the street, to the east and slightly north, was an open-air lot known as the Las Vegas Village. This wasn't a permanent stadium. It was basically a massive, paved 15-acre rectangle owned by MGM Resorts.
The distance matters. The gunman was perched in a corner suite on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay. From his window to the center of the concert crowd, it was roughly 490 yards. That is nearly five football fields.
It's a weird spot. If you’re standing there now, you’re looking at the Luxor’s giant pyramid to the north and the airport runways to the east. It’s a high-traffic, high-noise area, which is part of why it took several seconds for the 22,000 country music fans to realize the popping sound wasn't pyrotechnics.
People often get confused about the hotel. They think he was on the roof. He wasn't. He used a hammer to smash out two heavy, floor-to-ceiling windows in Suite 32-135 and the connecting room. This gave him a literal "kill box" angle over the festival grounds.
Why the Las Vegas Village location was a trap
The venue itself—the Las Vegas Village—was located at 3901 S. Las Vegas Blvd. Honestly, it was a logistical deathtrap once the shooting started.
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Because it was a fenced-off festival site, thousands of people were penned in by "unscalable" perimeter fencing. When the bullets started raining down from the 32nd floor, people couldn't just run in any direction. They were funneled toward specific gates. Some people tried to climb the fences. Others hid behind concrete barriers or under stages, but since the fire was coming from an elevated position, those horizontal "covers" didn't actually provide much protection.
To the east of the lot lies the McCarran International Airport (now Harry Reid International Airport). During the chaos, many survivors actually ended up breaching the airport fence and running onto the active runways. Pilots had to be told to hold their positions because hundreds of people were sprinting across the tarmac in the dark.
Then there were the fuel tanks. People forget this part. The gunman didn't just fire at the crowd. He also fired at two large jet fuel storage tanks at the edge of the airport, about 1,100 feet away from his window. He actually hit them. Luckily, jet fuel is much harder to ignite than gasoline, or the disaster would have been significantly worse.
What happened to the 32nd floor?
Mandalay Bay had a massive PR crisis on its hands. For a long time, people wondered if they would ever rent out those rooms again.
They didn't.
The hotel eventually renumbered the floors to try and distance themselves from the event. Floors 31 through 34 were re-labeled. Specifically, the 32nd floor was skipped in the elevator numbering. If you go there today, you won't see a button for 32. It’s basically been scrubbed from the guest-facing map. The actual suite where it happened has been permanently sealed. It isn't a room you can book, and it isn't used for storage. It is just... gone.
It's a somber reality for the staff. Many of the housekeepers and floor attendants who worked that night still work at the property. The hotel has spent millions on security upgrades and "invisible" tech since then, but the physical memory of that corner suite remains a shadow on the building's facade.
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The Las Vegas Village today: A site in limbo
For years after the shooting, the 15-acre lot sat empty. It was a giant, haunting slab of asphalt surrounded by a green chain-link fence. It stayed that way for a long time because nobody knew what the "right" thing to do was.
Do you build a memorial? Do you turn it back into a parking lot?
In 2019, MGM Resorts announced plans to turn part of the site into a community center and a permanent memorial. However, the COVID-19 pandemic stalled a lot of that momentum.
As of now, the site has been partially transitioned. Two acres were donated to the county for the 1 October Memorial, which is currently in the design and development phase. The rest of the land was actually sold. In 2022, the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation purchased the majority of the site. They haven't started major construction yet, but it’s no longer under the ownership of the casino giant that held it during the tragedy.
It's a strange feeling to walk past it today. The Las Vegas Strip is all about noise, lights, and forgetting your troubles. But when you hit that south end, near the intersection of Las Vegas Blvd and Reno Ave, the energy changes. It’s quieter. You see people stop and look up at the Mandalay Bay windows, trying to spot the exact gold-tinted glass where the windows were replaced.
The Permanent Memorial: Forever One
If you are looking for the actual place to pay your respects, you shouldn't go to the vacant lot. You should go to the Las Vegas Community Healing Garden.
Located at 1015 S. Casino Center Blvd, this garden was built in just four days by volunteers immediately after the shooting. It wasn't a corporate project; it was a grassroots response. It features 58 trees (for the original 58 victims) and a "Wall of Remembrance."
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While the "where" of the shooting is the south Strip, the "heart" of the recovery is in the downtown Arts District at this garden.
Key locations to know:
- The Shooter’s Perch: Mandalay Bay, 32nd Floor (now renumbered/sealed).
- The Target Site: 3901 S. Las Vegas Blvd (formerly Las Vegas Village).
- The Escape Route: East toward Harry Reid International Airport runways.
- The Memorial Site: 1015 S. Casino Center Blvd (The Healing Garden).
Looking at the technical failures of the site
Expert analysis of the site's layout revealed huge gaps in how we secure outdoor events. Before 2017, "snipers" or elevated threats weren't high on the priority list for concert security. They were worried about bombs or guys with knives at the gate.
The geography of the Strip makes it unique. You have "canyons" created by massive hotels overlooking flat, open spaces. Since the shooting, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) has changed how they patrol high-rise hotels during major events like New Year's Eve or the Formula 1 race. They now place observers on roofs and use advanced surveillance to monitor hotel windows in real-time.
Basically, the geography that allowed the shooting to happen has been mapped and mitigated as much as humanly possible.
Practical information for visitors
If you are visiting Las Vegas and want to understand the site's layout or pay respects, here is what you need to do:
- Don't try to visit the 32nd floor. You can't. Security is tight, and as mentioned, the room doesn't "exist" on the elevator map anymore. It’s disrespectful to the victims and the staff to go "disaster touring" inside the hotel halls.
- Visit the Healing Garden instead. It’s about 10 minutes north of the Strip. It is quiet, beautifully maintained, and provides actual context for the lives lost.
- The New Memorial. Keep an eye on the Clark County website for updates on the "Forever One" memorial. This will be the official, permanent site located on the actual grounds of the shooting. It’s expected to be a place of education and reflection.
- Observe the "Vegas Strong" markers. You’ll see them all over the city. From the welcome sign to the jerseys of the Vegas Golden Knights, the city’s identity is now permanently fused with the resilience shown after the events at the Las Vegas Village.
The site is no longer a place of active celebration, and it likely never will be again. It stands as a reminder of a night that changed the city’s security protocols, its relationship with the gun industry, and the way it protects the millions of tourists who walk the Strip every year. Knowing where it happened isn't just about curiosity—it's about acknowledging a scar on one of the most famous streets in the world.
To see the progress on the permanent memorial or to find ways to support the families of the victims, you can visit the official Clark County 1 October Memorial page or the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center. These organizations provide the most accurate, updated information on the site's transformation and the ongoing support for survivors.