Fans sitting ducks for gun attack

THE first burst of automatic gunfire lasted for 10 terrifying seconds.

On the main stage at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, the cowboy hat-wearing singer, Jason Aldean, was mid-song.

His voice abruptly fell silent at the same time as the end of that first blaze of gunfire. Then he turned and ran for the back of the stage as realisation dawned.

At the back of the openair arena, seconds of confused silence followed as the crowd struggled to digest what was unfolding.

“Uh oh. Gun shots. That’s gun shots,” a man said. A louder voice, this time a woman’s, added: “Oh my god, they’re shooting.”

The murderous attack on Las Vegas festivalgoers was caught in mobile phone recordings that went instantly around the world via social media last night.

A crowd of thousands was gathered at Las Vegas Village on the south end of the world famous Las Vegas Strip when the shooting began about 10.08pm (Las Vegas time).

The three-day music festival was into its final act on its final night.

Aldean was delivering the closing performance. Strict security was in place — no bags or backpacks permitted.

But the venue was overlooked by giant resorts Mandalay Bay and The Luxor, and early advice from police is that the crowd became sitting ducks for a sniper. At least some of the gunfire was suspected to have originated from the Mandalay’s 32nd floor, where police said a suspect — a local man — had died.

Guests in the upper floors at the hotel reported being woken by the roar of bullets bursting through glass windows.

At the festival, screams were followed closely by shouted orders of “get down, stay down”.

No one had to tell that to the people near the front of the stage, who instinctively dropped to the ground. Then they scattered in all directions.

About 40 seconds after the first volley of gunfire came a second, this time lasting another 10 seconds.

A woman’s voice again yelled — “Get down, get down” — as the screams became higher pitched.

There was a shorter break of about 15 seconds before the third burst of gunfire, this time lasting about eight seconds.

“Down, down, down,” a man shouted.

“Help, help,” a woman screamed.

“Don’t push, don’t push, don’t push,” said a man before the video ended.

A public alert was sent out over social media at 10.42pm (Las Vegas time).

“Shots fired at Mandalay Bay. Many reported down and many pinned including officers. Confirmed multiple dead. Shots coming from hotel room over officers’ heads … multiple officers shot. Possible 2-3 shooters. This is a mass casualty event.”