deadliest U.s. massacre
GUNMAN TARGETS VEGAS CONCERT 58 KILLED, 515 HURT FBI DISMISSES DAESH CLAIM
las vegas — A 64-yearold man armed with more than 10 rifles rained down gunfire on a Las Vegas country music festival on Sunday, slaughtering at least 58 people in the largest mass shooting in US 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. 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.
His female companion Marilou Danley, 62, was initially listed as a person of interest by police but they said later she was not believed to be involved.
The Daesh group said the gunman was “a soldier” from its ranks who had converted to Islam months ago. However, the FBI said the shooter had no connection to the international terrorist group.
President Trump denounced what he called “an act of pure evil” and said he would visit Las Vegas on Wednesday.
At least 58 people were killed and 515 injured when a heavily armed “lone wolf” gunman opened fire from a 32-floor hotel room on an open-air concert on the Las Vegas Strip in the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
The Daesh group claimed the 64-year-old Nevada man behind the Sunday night massacre, Stephen Craig Paddock, was one of its “soldiers” but the FBI said it had found no such connection so far.
Police said Paddock killed himself before a SWAT team breached his room in the Mandalay Bay hotel overlooking the venue for the country music concert.
President Donald Trump denounced what he called “an act of pure evil” and said he would visit Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters at least eight rifles had been recovered from the gunman’s hotel room.
Paddock was believed to be a “lone wolf” assailant who acted alone, Lombardo said, declining to speculate as to what may have motivated the attack.
“I can’t get into the mind of a psychopath at this point,” he said.
Lombardo said Paddock had ap- parently used a hammer to smash the window of his hotel room before opening fire on the crowd below.
Police said around 22,000 people were attending the concert when bursts of automatic gunfire erupted shortly after 10pm.
Concert-goers screamed and fled in panic as a steady stream of bullets rained down from the hotel.
Lombardo said 58 people had been confirmed dead and 515 injured and he said the toll could rise. The authorities issued an appeal for blood donors.
Daesh said one of its “soldiers” who had “converted to Islam several months ago” was behind the shooting but provided no evidence to back up the claim.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it has found no such link so far.
“As this event unfolds we have determined to this point no connection with an international terrorist group,” said Aaron Rouse, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas office of the FBI.
Mike McGarry, a 53-year-old 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 in the panicked crowd.
The shooting broke out on the final night of the three-day Route 91 Harvest festival, a sold-out event attended by thousands and featuring top acts such as Eric Church, Sam Hunt and Jason Aldean.
“Tonight has been beyond horrific,” Aldean said in a statement on Instagram. “It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night.”
US President Donald Trump offered his condolences to the victims via a post on Twitter early on Monday. “My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!” Trump said. —