On Tuesday, stories of acts of heroism began to emerge from the chaos of Las Vegas. An Army sniper tended to the wounded, a nurse shielded his wife from gunfire, a man used a flannel shirt as a makeshift tourniquet on a teenage girl, others loaded victims into cars and trucks and drove them to the hospital. Some of Sunday night’s heroes did not survive.

There will be much to analyze and investigate following the shooting. The biggest question — why — may never be answered. There is so much about this horrible situation that remains unknown.

But there is at least one thing we do know: Strangers risked their lives to help others. While most of the crowd was fleeing in panic, some were running back into the chaos in order to help others. Oct. 1 will forever be remembered for the bloodshed and the needless loss of life, but it can also be remembered as a day that regular people became heroes.

Individuals chose to help when they did not have to and when doing so could have easily cost them their lives. God bless them.