Fear grips Vegas
59 dead, 527 wounded as gunman sets grim record at music fest
A gunman opened fire from a hotel room above a packed outdoor concert in Las Vegas, killing at least 59, wounding 527 more and prompting chaos as the panicked crowd scrambled for cover during the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, was found dead by officers who stormed his 32nd-floor room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, said Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who announced the death toll Monday and said it could rise.
Lombardo described Paddock, of Mesquite, Nevada, as “a distraught person intent on causing mass casualties.” Lombardo said Paddock was likely a “lone wolf,” and a motive for the shooting had not been determined.
“This is a crazed lunatic full of hate,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said. “This has been a hugely traumatic time for all of us.”
The three-day Route 91 Harvest festival started Friday, and Lombardo estimated 22,000 people were in the crowd when the shooting began Sunday about 10 p.m. local time.
The festival’s headliner, country music singer Jason Aldean, was on stage when the barrage of bullets began and continued to play through the first, extended volley, video from the scene shows. The crowd appeared confused, unsure what the sound was.
The music stopped about the same time the volley did, but after several seconds another lengthy
round of gunfire began, setting off bedlam in the crowd. Videos on social media show people ducking for cover and fleeing amid the unrelenting bombardment.
Cassie Manzanares, who was covering the festival for a Utah radio station, said she heard a “popping” noise.
Terrified, she said she froze. But a friend was shot, and she said she realized they had to run.
Among the victims was Sonny Melton, 29, a registered nurse from Big Sandy, Tennessee.
“He saved my life,” said his wife, Heather. “He grabbed me from behind and started running when I felt him get shot in the back.”
Aldean confirmed he and the rest of his team were safe.
“Tonight has been beyond horrific,” Aldean posted 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.”
Aaron Rouse, chief of the FBI’s Las Vegas office, disputed an Islamic State claim that Paddock was one of the militant group’s soldiers. Rouse said no connection to the militant group had been found.
Paddock had 23 guns in his hotel room.
Mesquite is a town of about 18,000 people 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Paddock lived in a retirement community, Sun City Mesquite, an upscale development of about 1,400 homes. Lombardo said authorities had searched Paddock’s home and found more guns and ammunition.
Lombardo said police had named Paddock’s roommate, Marilou Danley, as a person of interest. She is out of the country, and Lombardo said she will be questioned further upon her return.
City officials urged local residents to donate blood as blood drives organized across the city drew long lines.