With at least 58 killed and 515 injured, last night’s Las Vegas Strip shooting was the deadliest in modern American history.
LAS VEGAS — A gunman in a high-rise hotel overlooking the Las Vegas Strip opened fire on a country music festival late Sunday October 1st, killing at least 58 people and injuring hundreds of others in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
The gunman, identified by police as Stephen Paddock, was later found dead by officers on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said during a news briefing Monday.
The shooting marked the nation’s latest outbreak of gunfire and bloodshed to erupt in a public place, again transforming a seemingly routine night into one of terror as an American city was transformed into a war zone. The carnage in Las Vegas surpassed the death toll of 49 people slain in June 2016 when a gunman in Orlando, who later said he was inspired by the Islamic State, opened fire inside a crowded nightclub.
Lombardo said the death toll had risen to at least 58 by Monday morning, a number that could rise, as police are still investigating the scene. Lombardo also said another 515 people were injured after the shooting rampage. He did not specify how many of the people were wounded by gunfire or injured in the chaos that followed.
9:40 p.m. Pacific time
Jason Aldean, a country music singer, begins his performance at the Route 91 Harvest, an annual Las Vegas music festival. There were more than 22,000 people in attendance.
10:08 p.m.
The shooter, positioned on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, begins to fire shots into a concert venue across the street, a quarter-mile away.
Eyewitnesses described people running for exits or hiding behind trucks, trampling each other in the process. Some reported seeing concertgoers take shelter at nearby hotels and restaurants.
It’s unclear how many of the injuries resulted from gunshot wounds versus the pandemonium as people tried to exit the venue.
10:13 p.m.
The police located the shooter’s hotel room because the smoke from his gun made the fire alarm go off, according to a retired officer. A SWAT team stormed the room, using explosives to enter. Around that time, the shooter killed himself, according to Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo. There were 10 rifles found in the room, including at least one automatic weapon.
Around 3:30 a.m.
The police identified the shooter as Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old white male from Mesquite, Nev., which is near Las Vegas. Lombardo said Paddock’s run-ins with Las Vegas police consisted only of one citation several years ago. The police called him a “lone wolf” but also identified his roommate Marilou Danley as a “person of interest.” They do not think she was involved in the shooting.
The police have not yet determined his motive, and have not yet decided whether the shooting constitutes an act of terrorism.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/