Deadliest shooting in US history 50 killed and more than 200 injured
Suspect described as ‘lone wolf’ killed by police inside Mandalay Bay Resort. At least 50 people have been killed and 200 injured after a gunman opened fire on the crowd at a country music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday evening, mowing down concertgoers and triggering panic around the city’s famous gambling strip.
The attack is the deadliest mass shooting in US history, worse than last year’s Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting that left 49 dead. The suspected gunman, named by police as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, fired shots from the direction of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino into the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
He was killed by police on the 32nd floor of the building. Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said the local resident had been acting as a “lone wolf”. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said it was “confident” it had located Marilou Danley, described as a companion of Paddock, as well as two related vehicles, a Hyundai Tucson and a Chrysler Pacifica.
Local television stations played video that showed individuals screaming “get down” and hiding amid the sound of what appeared to be rapid gunfire. One witness described a moment of “panic” as he saw several people shot. “Terrifying is an understatement. There is no word to explain what I felt,” said another person present at the festival, who described feeling helpless as others were struck by bullets.
University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, the region’s biggest trauma hospital, received 50 patients, with several in critical condition, it told the Financial Times. Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center had also received patients. News programmes showed a flood of police and ambulances in the area. In a sign of the chaos that broke out in the city, other hotels and casinos in the vicinity were put on lockdown following the incident. Flights into and out of Las Vegas were temporarily halted, according to McCarran International Airport.
The video showed parts of the Las Vegas Strip nearly empty except for the emergency services, drawing a stark contrast to normal evenings and early mornings when the area is packed with revelers. Almost 43m people visited Las Vegas last year, generating about $9.7bn in countywide gambling revenues, according to the Convention and Visitors Authority. The Mandalay Bay itself is a sprawling complex, with more than 3,000 hotel rooms and a large casino and many restaurants.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of last night’s tragic events. We’re grateful for the immediate actions of our first responders,” MGM Resorts International, owner of the Mandalay Bay, said in a statement. Initial reports of the incident began coming into police headquarters about 10 pm local time, Mr. Lombardo said. Witnesses, many of whom initially thought they were hearing fireworks, said the singer Jason Aldean was on stage when the shooting began. Source: Financial Times
