Tragedy struck during a Jason Aldean concert outside of the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas Sunday (Oct 1) night. Via the Associated Press:
A gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel-casino unleashed a hail of bullets on an outdoor country music festival below, killing at least 58 people as tens of thousands of concertgoers screamed and ran for their lives, officials said Monday. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
At least 515 others were injured in the Sunday night attack, authorities said.
SWAT teams using explosives stormed the gunman’s hotel room in the sleek, gold-colored glass skyscraper and found he had killed himself, authorities said. He had as many as 10 guns with him, including rifles, they said.
Country music star Jason Aldean was performing Sunday night at the end of the three-day Route 91 Harvest Festival in front of a crowd of more than 22,000 when the gunman opened fire from inside the 44-floor Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street.
The gunman was identified as Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada. He had checked into the hotel room on Thursday, authorities said. Police said he was a retiree with no criminal record in the Nevada county where he lived.
Aldean commented on his Instagram account
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZvRZnogBrI/
American Idol alum Lauren Alaina performed at the festival on Friday night. She and her crew are safe.
Praying for everyone at Route 91. That crowd was one of the best I’ve played for all year. This news is devastating. My camp is home & safe.
— Lauren Alaina (@Lauren_Alaina) October 2, 2017
Raw: Video of First Moment of Las Vegas Shooting
https://youtu.be/bFA2-2mdnRM
WATCH: @PeteWilliamsNBC shares first image of Las Vegas shooting suspect Stephen Paddock https://t.co/1kpggFg9FL
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 2, 2017
WATCH: LVMPD Sheriff Joseph Lombardo says number of injuries is well over 400, deaths over 50 pic.twitter.com/9Sff2FeGC7
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 2, 2017
WATCH: “I saw guys plugging bullet holes with their fingers.” Las Vegas shooting witness tells @savannahguthrie and @mlauer pic.twitter.com/y3Q2bpPNPs
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 2, 2017
WATCH: “It was absolute chaos…whoever the shooter was was just spraying the crowd.” Las Vegas shooting witness https://t.co/nZUlfUAUZp
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 2, 2017