With at least 50 killed and 400 injured, last night’s Las Vegas Strip shooting was the deadliest in modern American history.
The shooter, who was positioned on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, fired shots into a concert venue across the street, a quarter-mile away. With an estimated 22,000 people watching country music singer Jason Aldean’s performance at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, chaos ensued.
Bullets rapidly flew into the crowd for several minutes. 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.
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At least 50 people were killed and 400 injured - a number that could rise. It’s unclear how many of those injuries resulted from gunshot wounds versus the pandemonium of trying to exit the venue. The dead include an off-duty Las Vegas police officer who attended the music festival. Two on-duty officers were among the injured.
Minutes after the shooting began at 10:08 p.m., a SWAT team stormed the hotel, using explosives to get into the shooter’s room. As they entered, the shooter killed himself, according to Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo. The man was found with 10 rifles, including at least one automatic weapon.
The shooter was later identified as Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old white male from Mesquite, Nev., 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.”
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The police have not yet determined his motive, and have not yet decided whether the shooting constitutes an act of terrorism.
The police have shut down portions of the Las Vegas Strip. The Las Vegas Freeway was temporarily closed but has since reopened. McCarran International Airport, which is adjacent to the scene, is expected to function normally today after diverting flights last night.
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