Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Las Vegas

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Police said he had no criminal record in the county where he lived. Paddock’s brother, Eric Paddock, who lives in Florida, told the Orlando Sentinel: “We are completely dumbfounde­d. We can’t understand what happened.”

In an address to the country, President Donald Trump called the attack “an act of pure evil” and added: “In moments of tragedy and horror, America comes together as one. And it always has.” He ordered flags flown at half-staff.

Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said authoritie­s believed it was a “lone wolf” attack. The homeland security department said there was no “specific credible threat” involving other public venues in the US.

In its claim of responsibi­lity, the Islamic State said the gunman was “a soldier” who had converted to Islam months ago but it provided no evidence.

Attorney general Jeff Sessions offered the support of the FBI and other federal agencies but noted the investigat­ion is being led by the sheriff in Las Vegas. That was seen as another possible sign the shooting was not believed to be an act of internatio­nal terrorism.

Las Vegas authoritie­s put out a call for blood donations and set up a hotline to report missing people and speed the identifica­tion of the dead and wounded. They also opened a “family reunificat­ion center” for people to find loved ones.

Aldean was in the middle of a song when the shots came rapidly: pop-pop-pop-pop. Video showed Aldean stopping and the crowd going quiet as if it was unsure of what had happened.

The gunman paused and then fired another volley, the muzzle flashes visible from the casino, as victims fell to the ground while others fled in panic. Some hid behind concession stands, others crawled under parked cars.

Kodiak Yazzie, 36, said the music stopped temporaril­y when the first shots began and then started up again before the second round of pops sent the per-

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