Las Vegas, Oct 2 (AP/UNB) — A gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel-casino unleashed a hail of bullets on an outdoor country music festival below, killing at least 58 people as tens of thousands of concertgoers screamed and ran for their lives, officials said Monday. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
At least 515 others were injured in the Sunday night attack, authorities said.SWAT teams using explosives stormed the gunman’s hotel room in the sleek, gold-coloured glass skyscraper and found he had killed himself, authorities said. He had as many as 10 guns with him, including rifles, they said.
There was no word on a motive for the attack. Aaron Rouse, the FBI agent in charge in Las Vegas, said investigators saw no immediate evidence connecting it to an international terror organization, despite a claim of responsibility from the Islamic State group.
Mayor Carolyn Goodman said the attack was the work of a “crazed lunatic full of hate.”
Country music star Jason Aldean was performing Sunday night at the end of the three-day Route 91 Harvest 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.
Without providing any evidence to support the claim, the Islamic State group on Monday said the gunman in the mass shooting in Las Vegas was “a soldier” from its ranks who had converted to Islam months ago.
Authorities have yet to identify a motive for the shooting and said initially there was no evidence of any connection to international terrorism.
The extremist group has a history of exaggerated or false claims, including earlier this year, when it claimed an attack on a casino in the Philippines that turned out to have been a botched robbery carried out by a heavily indebted gambling addict.
The group’s Aamaq news agency released two brief statements hours after the shooting at a country music concert that killed at least 58 people and wounded more than 500. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Update, 11:55 a.m. EST: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Joe Lombardo told a press conference Monday morning that the death toll has climbed to at least 58 people; the number of injured now stands at 515 people.
Update, 10:56 a.m. EST: In a press conference from the White House, President Trump condemned the shooting as an “act of pure evil.” He also announced he’ll be traveling to Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet with victims’ families and first responders.
Update, 6:45 a.m. EST: More than 50 people have been killed and at least 400 people were transported to the hospital in the worst mass shooting in US history. Officials identified the gunman as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock. Paddock is believed to have killed himself, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters Monday morning.
As the US woke up to the news, a fuller picture of the horror began to emerge. Officials say Paddock opened fire around 10 pm from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel on the Las Vegas strip, where he shot down at concertgoers attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival outside, sending tens of thousands of people fleeing the chaotic scene. Witnesses say the gunfire lasted for nearly 10 minutes.
Nearly two hours elapsed before police confirmed the suspect had been shot, according to the New York Times.
An “excess of ten rifles” were discovered in Paddock’s hotel room, Lombardo said.
Authorities were initially searching for a woman named Marilou Danley, who was suspected of being connected to the shooting after her identification was found on Paddock. Lombardo updated reporters on Monday and said police have located her out of the country.
“He was utilizing some of her identification and we have had conversations with her,” he said at a press briefing. “We believe her at this time not to be involved. But obviously that investigation will continue.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the president was briefed on the shooting. He posted the following tweet:
At least one gunman opened fire on the Las Vegas strip down at an outdoor country music festival late Sunday night. Video footage quickly circulating on social media showed panicked crowds fleeing the scene and the sound of what appeared to be sustained automatic gunfire.
Initial news reports, citing local hospitals, said there were at least 24 victims with gunshot wounds. Some flights into Las Vegas’ McCarran airport were diverted.
