Las Vegas concert attack: Deadliest mass shooting in modern US history - 58 dead, 500 injured




The gunman, 64-year-old Nevada resident Stephen Paddock, was our man, claim Daesh but authorities deny terror angle
A gunman killed at least 58 people and wounded 500 more when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

Police on Monday said the gunman, a Nevada resident identified as Stephen Paddock, had been found dead after a SWAT team responded to reports of multiple gunfire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, a hotel-casino next to the concert venue.As many as 10 guns, including rifles, were recovered from the room.

“We believe the individual killed himself prior to our entry,“ Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said at a news conference.
The Daesh terror group claimed responsibility for the attack, but a senior US official discounted the claim.

Concert-goers screamed and fled in panic as a steady stream of automatic gunfire rang out at the venue shortly after 10 pm local time, footage captured on smartphones showed.

Lombardo told reporters that initial estimates had put the number of dead “at in excess of 50 individuals“ while more than 200 had been injured. In a later statement, police put the number of dead at 50 and said the number of people taken to hospital at approximately 406, although it was not immediately clear if that figure included anyone who was later pronounced dead.
Police said Paddock, who lived in a town around 130 km from Las Vegas, had opened fire on the crowds below from the upper reaches of the hotel, located on the famed Las Vegas Strip.

Paddock's female companion, who had earlier been named as a person of interest by police, is believed to have been located, Lombardo added.

Thousands of fans were attending the concert next to the Mandalay Bay as part of a three-day country music festival known as Route 91.

Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened“ by the “senseless tragedy“ while Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May called it an “appalling attack“.

Witnesses said Paddock opened fire with along burst, then appeared to reload and continued shooting.

Best-selling country singer Jason Aldean was on stage and near the end of his concert when the shooting began. He initially carried on playing when the first crackle of gunfire could be heard but then hurried offstage once he realised it was a shooting.

Robert Hayes, a firefighter from LA who was watching the concert near the front of the stage, said he first thought the gunfire was some kind of equipment malfunction.
Once he realised what was going on, he joined the first responders, donning one of their vests. “Honestly I probably pronounced 15-20 people“ dead, he told Fox News. “It was pretty much like a war scene inside.“ The emergency crews used anything to hand as makeshift stretchers, including tables and metal railings normally used to control the crowds, Hayes said.

Asked if he thought it was an inexperienced gunman, he responded: “With 30,000 people in the arena area, it was kind of like shooting goldfish...He didn't have to be good.“

Although the final toll has yet to be confirmed, it is already the deadliest shooting in the US. The previous deadliest shooting came in June 2016 when 49 people were killed at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. It was also the latest in a series of recent deadly attacks at concert venues. Twenty-two people were killed while leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in May when a suicide bomber detonated a nail bomb in the foyer.
Ninety people were killed in November 2015 at the Bataclan venue in Paris during a concert.

Shooting an `act of pure evil': Trump

President Donald Trump on Monday condemned the largest mass shooting in modern US history as an “act of pure evil“ and said the nation was “joined together in sadness, shock and grief“ after more than 50 people were gunned down in Las Vegas. Speaking slowly and somberly from the White House, Trump declared that the nation would rally together in the face of the latest act of senseless vviolence.

“Our unity cannot be shattered by evil, our bonds cannot be broken by violence,“ the president said. “We call upon the bonds that unite us: our faith, our family, and our shared values. We call upon the bonds of citizenship, the ties of community, and the comfort of our common humanity.“

In the measured statement, Trump did not describe the gunman in any way or suggest any possible motivation or affiliation. He praised the first responders who he said prevented further loss of life and said he would visit Las Vegas on Wednesday. He offered condolences to the families of those killed, saying “We cannot fathom their pain. We cannot imagine their loss.“

`Beyond horrific', says singer Jason Aldean
American country singer Jason Aldean, who was performing when a gunman opened fire in Las Vegas, described the mass shooting as “beyond horrific“.

A video posted on social media captured the moment the gunshots began, forcing Aldean and his band to abruptly stop mid-song and leave the stage. The video shows people screaming, with one woman yelling, “Oh my god,“ and others calling on others to “get down“.

“Tonight has been beyond horrific. I still don't know what to say but wanted to let everyone know that me and my crew are safe,“ Aldean wrote on his Instagram account. “My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved tonight. It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night,“ CNN quoted him as writing.