‘This was an act of pure evil’
At least 58 dead and 515 injured by gunman Killer took his own life after concert massacre
AT LEAST 58 people have been killed and another 515 were hurt after a gunman opened fire on a Las Vegas outdoor country music festival in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history – but the reason behind it remains a mystery.
SWAT teams who stormed the gunman’s room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino skyscraper found he had killed himself after shooting at thousands of people enjoying the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
The gunman, identified as Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, had as many as 10 guns with him, including rifles, authorities said.
There was no word on a motive for the attack, but a law enforcement official said there was no indication that the massacre was connected to international terrorism.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack and said the gunman was “a soldier” who had converted to Islam months ago, but it provided no evidence to back up the claim.
Country music star Jason Aldean was performing on Sunday night at the end of the threeday festival in front of a crowd of more than 22,000 when the gunman opened fire from inside the 44-floor Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street on Las Vegas Strip.
Paddock had checked into the hotel room on Thursday, authorities said. Police said he was retired with no criminal record in Nevada county, where he lived.
In an address to the country, US 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.”
Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said authorities believe it was a “lone wolf ” attack, while the US Homeland Security Department said there was no “specific credible threat” involving other public venues in the US.
US attorney general Jeff Sessions offered the support of the FBI and other federal agencies, but noted that the investigation is being led by the sheriff in Las Vegas – signalling that the shooting was not believed to be an act of international terrorism.
Las Vegas authorities called 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 centre” for people to find loved ones.
Harrowing video footage of the shooting shows Aldean stopping his performance on stage after an initial volley of shots could be heard.
After a pause, the gunman fired another volley, with the muzzle flashes visible from the casino as victims fell to the ground, while others fled in panic.
Police shut down busy Las Vegas Boulevard, and federal and state authorities converged on the scene.
Interstate 15 was briefly closed, and flights at McCarran International Airport were suspended.
It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone. Country music star Jason Aldean, who was on stage as the gunman began firing.
Hospital emergency rooms were jammed with the wounded. Ruben Kihuen, a Democrat whose congressional district includes a portion of Las Vegas, visited a hospital were some of the victims were taken and said: “Literally, every single bed was being used, every single hallway was being used.
“Every single person there was trying to save a life.”
The dead included at least three off-duty police officers from various departments who were attending the concert. Two on-duty officers were wounded, one critically.
Nearly every inch of the Las Vegas Strip is under video surveillance, much of it set up by the casinos to monitor their properties, which could yield a wealth of material for investigators as they try to piece together the attack.
Hours after the shooting, Aldean posted on Instagram that he and his crew were safe and that the shooting was “beyond horrific”.
“It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night,” the country star said.
Before Sunday’s massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history took place in June 2016, when a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people.
THE BROTHER of the gunman responsible for the worst mass shooting in modern US history has questioned where he got his weapons, saying he was “not an avid gun guy at all”.
Stephen Paddock, 64, was named by police as the perpetrator who massacred at least 58 people from a 32nd-floor hotel room.
The Nevada native also wounded more than 515 people after opening fire on the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip late on Sunday.
His emotional brother, Eric Paddock, described his sibling as a gambler with “no religious affiliation, no political affiliation”, or history of mental illness.
He added: “The fact that he had those kinds of weapons is just ... where the hell did he get automatic weapons? He has no military background or anything like that.
“He’s a guy who lived in a house in Mesquite and drove down and gambled in Las Vegas.”
Paddock is believed to have killed himself before a police Swat team burst into his room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, where at least 10 “rifles” were found, Clark County sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters.
He said: “We have no investigative information or background associated with this individual that is derogatory.
“The only thing we can tell is he received a citation several years ago, and that citation was handled as a matter of normal practice in the court system.”
US records show Paddock lived in a three-year-old, $396,000 (£297,554) two-bedroom home in the desert town of Mesquite, 80 miles north-east of Las Vegas, near the Arizona state border.
Guns and ammunition were found in a search of Paddock’s “nice clean” home, a Mesquite Police spokesman told reporters.
He said people living either side of the house in a retirement community were evacuated from the area as a precaution before it was searched.
“I believe there were some weapons found and maybe some ammunition,” he said, adding that no one was in the house at the time.
Local media said Paddock had also previously lived in Reno, Nevada, California and Florida.
He lived in the property in Babbling Brook Court with Marilou Danley, 62, records show.
Eric Paddock told CBS she was his brother’s girlfriend and a nice woman who sent his mother cookies.
Described as 4ft 11ins and of Asian ethnicity, she was named initially as a person of interest by police.
But Mr Lombardo later said she was out of the country at the
Where did he get automatic weapons? He has no military background. Eric Paddock, brother of attacker, who was left baffled by what had happened.
time and they did not believe she was involved, although Paddock used some of her ID to get into the hotel, where he had been staying since September 28.
Eric Paddock said the family was “shocked, dumbfounded” by what happened.
He added: “He was just a guy. Something happened, he snapped or something.”
Three off-duty British soldiers rushed to the aid of the injured, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence confirmed.
The soldiers from 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, known as the Welsh Cavalry, were on leave and visiting Las Vegas after a desert training exercise in Nevada.
The spokesman said: “We can confirm that a number of serving personnel from 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards provided assistance to the wounded following the heinous shooting in Las Vegas.
“Our thoughts go out to those affected by this terrible act.”