In the moments before the Las Vegas gunman unleashed terror, a husband and wife of 32 years posed for a selfie in front of the Route 91 Harvest festival stage.
Denise and Tony Burditus stood close together and smiled widely as they snapped the photo while their fellow concert-goers mingled in the background.
It would become one of the last the high school sweethearts from West Virginia would take together.
Soon after, Denise became one of the 58 victims killed by the barrage of gunfire.
Denise and Tony Burditus, who had been married 32 years, posed for a selfie in front of the Route 91 Harvest festival stage right before the Las Vegas gunman unleashed terror
When the gunfire first erupted, the couple had assumed, like many, that it was just fireworks for the festival.
‘She asked me if it was gunfire, I told her, No,’ Tony told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. ‘It was during the second burst that we knew and started trying to get out of there.’
‘I was leading her through the crowd. I initially thought it was an attack from the ground,’ he said. ‘I looked up and didn’t see anything.’
Denise was struck by a bullet as they tried to escape.
They rode together to a nearby hospital in the back of a truck but Denise was unconscious from the moment she was hit.
Hours later, Tony updated his Facebook with the tragic news that his beloved wife had died.
About 30 minutes before the shooting, Denise had changed her Facebook profile photo to one they had snapped earlier that day (above) with the Mandalay Bay casino in the background
Hours after Denise died, Tony updated his Facebook with the tragic news that his beloved wife had died. He shared this photo of them kissing the day she was killed
They had gone to Las Vegas for the weekend to see the Route 91 Harvest festival and had posted photos of themselves swimming in hotel pools and dining out
‘It saddens me to say that I lost my wife of 32 years, a mother of two, soon to be grandmother of five… in the Las Vegas shooting,’ he wrote.
‘Denise passed in my arms. I LOVE YOU BABE.’
They had gone to Las Vegas for the weekend to see the Route 91 Harvest festival and had posted photos of themselves swimming in hotel pools and dining out.
About 30 minutes before the tragedy unfolded, Denise had changed her Facebook profile photo to one they had snapped earlier that day. The Mandalay Bay hostel is bearing down on them in the background.
The couple had met at Hedgesville High School in Berkeley County, West Virginia. They got married and started their family when Tony was serving in the US Army.
Tony said he planned to stay in Las Vegas until his wife’s remains could be taken back to West Virginia.
The couple had met at Hedgesville High School in Berkeley County, West Virginia. They got married and started their family when Tony was serving in the US Army