Deadliest US massacre
SCEPTICISM: JIHADISTS CLAIM VEGAS SHOOTER WAS A RECENT CONVERT
58 killed, 515 wounded: It was an act of pure evil, says President Trump.
A64-year-old man armed with more than 10 rifles rained down gunfire on a Las Vegas country music festival on Sunday, slaughtering 58 people in the largest mass shooting in United States history before killing himself.
The barrage from a 32nd-floor window in the Mandalay Bay hotel into a crowd of 22 000 people lasted several minutes, causing panic. Some fleeing fans trampled each other as police scrambled to find the gunman. More than 500 people were injured.
Police identified the gunman as Stephen Paddock, who lived in a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada, and said they had no sense of what prompted his attack.
The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the massacre, but US officials expressed scepticism of that claim.
Shocked concertgoers, some with blood on their clothing, wandered the streets afterwards.
Police said they had no information about Paddock’s motive, that he had no criminal record and was not believed to be connected to any militant group.
There was reason to believe that Paddock had a history of psychological problems, an official said.
Police found several more weapons when they searched Paddock’s home in Mesquite, 145km northeast of Las Vegas, Mesquite police spokesperson Quinn Averett told reporters.
“He brutally murdered 58 people and wounded 515 more. It was an act of pure evil,” US President Donald Trump said. He ordered flags lowered to half-mast in a national gesture of mourning and said he would visit Las Vegas tomorrow.
Videos of the attack showed panicked crowds fleeing as sustained rapid gunfire ripped through the area.
“People were just dropping to the ground. It just kept going on,” said Steve Smith, a 45-year-old visitor from Phoenix, Arizona, who had flown in for the concert.
Las Vegas’s casinos, nightclubs and shopping draw some 3.5 million visitors from around the world each year and the area was packed with visitors when the shooting broke out.
Mike McGarry, a financial adviser from Philadelphia, was at the concert when he heard hundreds of shots ring out.
“It was crazy – I laid on top of the kids. They’re 20. I’m 53. I lived a good life,” McGarry said. The back of his shirt bore footmarks, after people ran over him.
The shooting broke out on the final night of the three-day Route 91 Harvest festival, a sold-out event featuring acts such as Eric Church and Jason Aldean.
“Tonight has been beyond horrific,” Aldean said in a statement. “It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone.”
The shooter’s brother, Eric Paddock, said the family was stunned.
“We have no idea. We’re horrified. We’re bewildered and our condolences go out to the victims,” he said. – Reuters