A gunman killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 400 others when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas Sunday in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
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Tuesday morning update
AFP – Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said 59 people had been confirmed dead and 527 wounded.
The toll could yet rise but the Las Vegas Strip shooting is already the deadliest ever in the United States, exceeding the toll of 49 killed at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida in June 2016.
Police identified the gunman as Stephen Craig Paddock, a wealthy retired former accountant from Mesquite, Nevada, around 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Las Vegas.
The sole suspect in the shooting, the 64-year-old Paddock killed himself in his hotel room as a police SWAT team was about to break in.
Police recovered at least 16 rifles from his room, and later found a weapons cache including over 18 firearms, explosives and several thousand rounds of ammunition at his home in Mesquite.
A former accountant and a licensed private pilot, police said Paddock had had no known brushes with the law.
Eric Paddock, the gunman's elder brother, told local media he could not fathom what motivated him.
Stephen Paddock regularly played high-stakes video poker but was wealthy and had "no religious affiliation, no political affiliation," the brother said.
Update Monday 20:15
Killer commited suicide
AFP –Approximately 406 people were transported to area hospitals, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement which also put the toll from Sunday night's shooting at 50.
Police said Monday they believe the gunman who opened fire on concertgoers on the Las Vegas strip killed himself before officers broke into his hotel room.
Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told a news conference that "in excess of 10 rifles" upon entering the 32nd floor hotel room.
Update: 19:10
Deadliest mass shooting in US history
A gunman killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 200 others when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas Sunday in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
"We are looking at in excess of 50 individuals dead and of 200 individuals injured at this point," Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told a pre-dawn press conference on Monday in the Nevada gambling hub.
"Obviously this is a tragic incident and one that we have never experienced."
Lombardo said that police and FBI were still looking into Paddock's background but they had "located numerous firearms within the room that he occupied" in the hotel.
Police said that Paddock had opened fire on the crowds below from the 32nd floor of the giant hotel located on the famous 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.
Update: 1750
The New York Times is quoting Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo as saying the death toll is now over 50. The NYT says more than 200 were injured. The sheriff identified the gunman as Stephen Paddock, 64. He said the police were seeking “a companion” named Marilou Danley, a woman he described as Asian and 4-foot-11.
More than 20 dead, 100 wounded in Las Vegas attack
AFP – A gunman killed "in excess of" 20 people and wounded more than 100 others Sunday when he opened fire on fans at a US country music concert on the Las Vegas Strip, police said.
The gunman, who police said was a local resident, was killed after being "engaged" by officers who responded to report of multiple gun shotscoming from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, a hotel-casino next to the concert venue.
Revelers screamed and fled in panic as a steady stream of automatic gunfire rang out at the venue shortly after 10:00pm local time, footage captured on smart phones showed.
"We have in excess of 100-plus injured and excess of 20-plus that have died at this point," Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told an early morning press conference.
"This is an ongoing investigation, but we are comfortable that the primary aggressor in this event is – has expired or passed away, and is no longer a threat."
Lombardo would not release the name of the gunman, but said he was a local man and issued an appeal for information about his companion.
"He has been identified, he is a local resident," he said at the press conference.
Thousands of fans were attending the concert next to the Mandalay Bay which was part of a three-day country music festival known as Route 91.
Witnesses told how the gunman opened fire with an initial burst and then appeared to reload as he continued his spree.
Best-selling country singer Jason Aldean was on stage at the time of the shooting which came towards the end of the concert.
"We were watching the concert having a great time, then we heard what sounded like firecrackers," witness Joe Pitz told the local Las Vegas Sun news outlet.
"I guess it was an automatic weapon going off but it literally sounded like firecrackers.
"Everybody in the vicinity went down. I don't know if they were ducking or if they were but it was chaos."
Another witness told local TV news station KLAS that he saw someone several stories high firing hundreds of shots into a crowd of people.
