50 killed by Vegas gunman
400 INJURED Deadliest mass shooting in modern US history sees man targeting music concert WASHINGTON:
A lone gunman opened fire on an outdoor country music festival on a Las Vegas strip in Nevada state early Monday morning, killing at least 50 people and wounding more than 400 in the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
The shooter, identified by authorities as Stephen Paddock, 64, is believed to have killed himself on the 32nd floor of the hotel from where he was raining bullets on the festival underway below.
Paddock was described as a white male, who lived locally and was known to local law enforcement authorities. But there was no word yet on his motivation for the shooting. ““We have no idea what his belief system was,” Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said at a news conference. “Right now, we believe he was the sole aggressor and the scene is static.”
The mass shooting overtakes the carnage in Orlando, Florida in June 2016, when a shooter, who had later claimed association with the Islamic State, had opened fire at people inside a gay nightclub, killing 49 of them.
The White House said in a statement that President Donald Trump had been briefed about the shooting and that the situation was being closely monitored. “My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The shooting took place on the last day of a three-day music festi- val that has been held for the past four years across the Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Boulevard, awash in glittering signature neon lights. Jason Aldean, the final performer of the festival, was on-stage at the time of the shootout.
“It was a horror show,” Ivetta Saldana told Las Vegas ReviewJournal, comparing the shooting to fireworks.
Another concertgoer, Lawrence Villezcas, threw himself over his wife to protect her.
Thousands of people gather for a country music festival late on Sunday night in the open air by the Las Vegas strip
Country music star Jason Aldean is performing when the first shots ring out shortly after 10pm local time (4am GMT)
The gunman fires from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. Panic-stricken people run from the venue and try to take cover.
Las Vegas police say one suspect was ‘down’. The shooter is later named by police as Stephen Paddock
Police say they are looking for shooter’s roommate as ‘person of interest’
Aldean sends out Instagram message confirming he and the band are safe
At 3:30am, Las Vegas sheriff says at least 50 dead, more than 200 injured