FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018

Contact: Tony Mangan, Public Information Officer, 605-773-6196

South Dakota Survivors of Las Vegas Shooting

Urged to Apply for Expense Reimbursement

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakotans who were victims of the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas have until Oct. 1 to apply for reimbursement for current or future out-of-pocket expenses that resulted from the event.

The Nevada Victims of Crime Program says records indicate 57 tickets for the concert were sold to South Dakotans. So far only four of those ticket holders have applied for reimbursement.  Out of the total 21,210 tickets sold both within and outside of the United States, 79 percent of the ticket holders have not yet applied.

Stephanie Pierson, the director of the South Dakota Victims’ Services Program, says this is a national outreach effort by the state of Nevada to ensure shooting victims have an opportunity for reimbursement. She said her program has not received any calls from South Dakotans who attended the concert, but says shooting survivors should not hesitate to apply.

“Funds from the program can be used by survivors for out-of-pocket expenses such as medical bills or counseling co-pays that are not covered by insurance,” she says. “Even those survivors who don’t have any eligible expenses now are still encouraged to apply for the program before the Oct. 1 deadline just in case they incur any future expenses that might be covered by the program.”

Ticket holders are encouraged to apply to the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center website VegasStrongRC.org or by calling 1-833-299-2433.

The Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting left 58 people dead and 851 injured.

South Dakota’s Victims Services Program is part of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

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