Las Vegas concertgoers claim personal items left after massacre

LAS VEGAS: The FBI started returning thousands of purses, phones and other property left behind by concertgoers in Las Vegas fleeing the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, as the Red Cross stepped up efforts to reach those traumatised by the Oct 1 massacre.

Investigators still lack a clear reason why Stephen Paddock, 64, unleashed a torrent of gunfire into a crowd of 22,000 at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. The suspect shot himself to death before police stormed his 32ndfloor suite in the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort, high above the concert venue.

“We’re past the response portion of this horrible incident,” Clark County Emergency Manager John Steinbeck said at a news conference. “We’re moving into the recovery now.” Fifty- eight people died and nearly 500 were injured.

To honor the victims, marquee lights along the Las Vegas Strip will dim for 11 minutes from 10.05pm until 10.16pm, the exact time and duration of the gunfire one week ago, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said in a statement.

Unlike so many other perpetrators of deadly mass shootings before him, Paddock left behind no suicide note, no manifesto, no recordings and no messages on social media pointing to his intent, according to police.

Paddock used a device known as a bump stock to make 12 of his rifles operate more like automatic weapons, which are outlawed in the United States.

The powerful US gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, said it would oppose an outright ban on bump-stock devices.

Teams of counsellors fanned out across the city, attending church services and gathering at a family assistance center set up at the Las Vegas Convention Center as the Red Cross set out to find those in need of comfort. Spiritual and legal advisers were also available. — Reuters