The hail of gunfire that rained down on a country music concert on Sunday evening in Las Vegas claimed the life of Christina Duarte, sister of White Sox prospect Michael Duarte.
“I will let you know this my sister is my life and she’s everything to me,” Duarte told me through a Facebook message. “She’s my world. She’s the best person a guy can ever dream of.”
Conflicting reports of Duarte’s discovery and possible death had been swirling since Monday but confirming the reports has been difficult. However, the Daily Breeze reported on Tuesday afternoon that friends of Christina Duarte had confirmed her death.
Friends confirm death of missing Torrance woman shot at Las Vegas festival https://t.co/NYGdEKnePs
— Sandy Mazza (@SandyMazza) October 3, 2017
Sadly it's been confirmed: Christiana Duarte, sister of @whitesox prospect Michael Duarte, was killed in Vegas: https://t.co/LiMFNJoi2B
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) October 3, 2017
Duarte attended the Route 91 concert where over 500 patrons were injured with her brother’s girlfriend Ariel Romero. Romero suffered a bullet wound to the cheek and will undergo surgery to repair a fractured jaw on Tuesday. Early Tuesday Christina’s brother posted several photos of his sister on Twitter without captions.
— Michael Duarte (@DuarteMjduarte) October 3, 2017
— Michael Duarte (@DuarteMjduarte) October 3, 2017
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Sandy Mazza of The Daily Breeze in Southern California reported that Romero had been shot in the cheek but was in stable condition. “The gunshot entered her cheek and exited her neck,” Romero’s aunt, Perla Arellano said Monday. “She’s in stable condition.
Arellano’s account of Romero’s discovery was harrowing. Mazza writes, “Romero’s phone also was lost in the chaos. But she wrote her mother’s phone number on her hand before losing consciousness so rescue workers could notify her, Arellano said.”
Michael posted this tweet at approximately 8 p.m. on Monday.
— Michael Duarte (@DuarteMjduarte) October 2, 2017
Ms. Duarte is a recent graduate of the University of Arizona and returned home to work for the L.A. Kings who pinned a tweet looking for her.
LA Kings friends: Christiana Duarte was last seen at yesterday's concert in Las Vegas.
Contact (866) 535-5654 if you have any information. pic.twitter.com/wNXUPnHqJ9
— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 2, 2017
Christina’s brother confirmed to Arizona Central through a Facebook message that she was missing earlier in the day and took an optimistic tone when he said, “my baby sister will come home!!! She’s my life. My best friend!”
White Sox first-round pick Jake Burger unwittingly posted this message to twitter long before he realized one of his teammates was impacted, later retweeting the calls searching for Christina Duarte.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families from this awful situation. Can't believe my eyes. #prayforvegas
— Jake Burger (@Burgatron13) October 2, 2017
And the reach of this catastrophe extended beyond the White Sox family with heralded prospect Keston Hiura sending out a call for information on Duarte’s whereabouts.
Everyone please give this a retweet. Her brother is a member of the @whitesox family. Making her apart of that family too. #PrayForVegas
— Jake Burger (@Burgatron13) October 2, 2017
