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Photographer helping Las Vegas mass shooting victims heal

Posted at 10:39 AM, Jan 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-22 14:58:00-05

Every photo Dennis Guerrero takes, he's building a memory.

He's taking snapshots every person pictured will hold on to after one of the darkest days in their lives. It is the moment a gunman opened fire during the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.

Sharon Hoover was right up front thinking she wouldn't live to meet her unborn granddaughter. The two joined survivors from the Pacific Northwest and their families to heal this past weekend.

"Coming back to Washington state we thought we were alone and to find out there's this many people in Washington was huge," said Hoover.

Guerrero is doing something positive in the middle of a difficult journey of healing.

A photographer for the festival the last several years, Guerrero started the #LoveWins movement to replace stories about the shooting with photos of beautiful moments. He's held several similar events across the country.

"Whether there's 100 people or 1,000 people everybody leaves with a photo so that way they have something to remember," said Guerrero.

Guerrero is healing too. As the smiles come into focus, his own anger and sadness start to blur.

"I wanted this to refresh the good memories versus the 11 minutes that we all went through hell and these photos is my way of trying to give back to them so they can actually take that with them," said Guerrero.

The next event will be held February 25 in Las Vegas.