Tennessee man died saving wife during Vegas mass shooting

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LAS VEGAS — A 29-year-old Tennessee man was among more than 50 people killed in Sunday night’s mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Sonny Melton, who lives in Paris, Tennessee, was at the Route 91 Harvest Festival with his wife, Heather, when the gunfire broke out.

Channel 2's Justin Wilfon is in Las Vegas right now. He'll have LIVE updates throughout the day Tuesday. Stay with WSBTV.com for continuous updates on this developing story.

Sonny Melton is from west Tennessee and worked as a registered nurse.

At least 59 people were killed and more than 527 injured in what is now the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Heather Melton said her husband died while saving her from being shot.

She posted on her Facebook page that she lost her "true love and knight in shining armor," according to our ABC affiliate in Nashville WKRN.

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Sonny Melton was a registered nurse at Henry County Medical Center. His wife is a doctor at the same hospital.

Jeremy Butler, who says he has been best friends with Sonny Melton since he was 3, told the Paris (Tennessee) Post Intelligencer that Melton was shielding his wife from gunfire when he was fatally shot.

Butler said the couple got married about a year ago.

Sonny Melton graduated from Union University. The school posted a statement describing him as a sweet and kind spirit.

The Tennessee governor released a statement expressing condolences to the Melton family and all the others impacted by this tragedy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.