A gunman fired hundreds of rounds into a crowd gathered at a country music concert in Las Vegas Sunday night, killing at least 58 people and injuring more than 500, though authorities expect the number of dead and wounded to rise.
At around 10:08 p.m. local time, a gunman opened fire from an upper-level floor at Mandalay Bay hotel on a crowd of 22,000 gathered at the Route 91 Harvest concert.
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
Police identified the shooter as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada. Paddock was found dead on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay after officers responded to the shooting. Authorities said Monday morning that they believe he killed himself.
Several prolonged bursts of automatic gunfire can be heard in numerous videos recorded of the incident, which began while country star Jason Aldean was in the middle of his set.
Insane…. this JUST happened. #PrayForVegas pic.twitter.com/RWgjFW7BHy
— Luke (@LukeBroadlick) October 2, 2017
Witnesses to the shooting said that they believed that the gunfire came from the hotel from an elevated position. Others described seeing people being hit with bullets, while one witness said on social media that he saw dead bodies “everywhere.”
Though there were initial reports of multiple shooters and multiple incidents up and down the Strip, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said at a press conference held at 1:30 a.m. local time that it was believed that there was only one suspect.
REUTERS/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus
Investigators contacted the suspect’s roommate, an Asian woman named Marilou Danley, but said Monday morning that they do not believe she was involved. Lombardo said later that Paddock had been using some forms of her identification.
At the 1:30 a.m. press conference, the sheriff called the suspect a “lone wolf.”
Asked about the shooter’s motive, Lombardo said, “We don’t know what his belief system was at this time.”
ISIS initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but FBI agent Aaron Rose told reporters that investigators found no evidence of a terrorism link.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Monday morning that an estimated 406 people had been transported to hospitals. The sheriff said authorities found at least 10 rifles in his 32nd floor hotel room, and that they had evidence that he had been staying in the room since Sept. 28.
— KingLurch (@austinnolson) October 2, 2017
Blake Apgar, a reporter with the Las Vegas Review Journal, obtained video footage recorded from a sidewalk just outside Mandalay Bay.
Video from a man along the sidewalk. You can hear what sounds like gunshots. pic.twitter.com/jRMS2G9mYE
— Blake Apgar (@blakeapgar) October 2, 2017
Dan Bilzerian, a professional poker player who was at the concert, recorded a video as he was running from the shooting.
“Holy fuck, this girl just got shot in the fucking head,” Bilzerian says as gunfire can be heard in the background.
Dan Bilzerian saw the shooting at Mandalay Bay #mandalaybay #prayforvegas pic.twitter.com/6FInoc8PUu
— hellothere (@ZachTurner_) October 2, 2017
A 45-year-old concert attendee, Steve Smith from Phoenix, told Reuters that “it sounded like fireworks.”
“People were just dropping to the ground. It just kept going on,” Smith told Reuters. “Probably 100 shots at a time. It would sound like it was reloading and then it would go again,” Smith said. “People were shot and trying to get out. A lot of people were shot.”
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump called the incident “terrible” in an early morning Monday tweet.
“My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!” Trump said.
The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that “at this time, we have no information to indicate a specific credible threat involving other public venues in the country.”
“However, increased security in and around public places and events may be experienced as officials take additional precautions,” the department said.
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
Aldean, who was on stage when the shooting started, called the night “beyond horrific.”
“I still dont know what to say but wanted to let everyone know that Me and my Crew are safe. My Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved tonight,” he wrote 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. #heartbroken #stopthehate.”
WATCH: IDENTITY OF SHOOTING SUSPECT REVEALED
