Thousands of people attending the music festival in the Las Vegas Strip became sitting ducks for the mass shooting as Stephen Craig Paddock, a 64-year-old Nevada resident, opened fire from his room in the adjoining high-rise Mandalay Bay Hotel, plunging the concert into chaos around 10 pm local time (10.30 am Monday, India time).
US President Donald Trump termed the killings an “act of pure evil”. In an address to the nation, he offered heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are assisting local authorities with the investigation, he said and called for national unity, saying in moments of tragedy and horror, America comes together as one.
Although the ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the attacker had converted to Islam a few months ago, US authorities, including an FBI special agent, said they did not believe the massacre to be terrorism-related. Police said Paddock appeared to be a “lone wolf” attacker, but there was no immediate word on the motive for the mass shooting or on the gunman’s mental state.
“We have no idea what his belief system was. Right now, we believe he was the sole aggressor and the scene is static,” Las Vegas’ Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters, but declined to go into the gunman’s background or possible motives. “It’s a devastating time. We have responded to the scene, and we’re doing the best we can to provide safety to the survivors,” he said.
A woman, Marilou Danley, described as Paddock’s travelling companion, was initially described as a “person of interest”, but after detectives established contact with her, police put out a statement to say she is “no longer being sought out”.
More than 22,000 people were gathered under the neon glow and glitz of the Las Vegas Strip for the concert when Paddock began opening fire from his hotel room, making people run for cover. Recordings of the attack suggest the suspect used an automatic weapon, said media reports which spoke of a sea of water bottles, hats, shoes and other items lost in the resulting stampede as a hail of gunfire rained down on them.
The condition of several among the roughly 500 people taken to area hospitals was reported to be serious. The Associated Press reported that the shooting continued intermittently for more than five minutes. Videos posted to Twitter from witnesses
showed people screaming and running for cover amid the sound of gunshots.
The death toll could mount further, the authorities signalled hours after the carnage, which had already surpassed the toll of 49 people killed in last year’s mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub. The gunman behind that attack had professed to be inspired by ISIS.
When the shots rang out, Jason Aldean, one of the final performers, was on stage. A witness to the shooting, Ivetta Saldana, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Aldean was rushed offstage. “It was a horror show,” she said. “People were standing around, then they hit the floor.” Aldean himself said in Instagram post that the scene was “beyond horrific”, but noted he and his crew were safe.
The episode prompted the authorities to divert flights due to land at the nearby McCarran International Airport, where authorities grounded all other planes temporarily.
Trump, in his address, lauded the police and all the first responders for their courageous efforts which, he said, had helped save the lives of so many. “The speed with which they acted is miraculous, and prevented further loss of life,” he said.
“Hundreds of our fellow citizens are now mourning the sudden loss of a loved one — a parent, a child, a brother or sister. We cannot fathom their pain. We cannot imagine their loss. To the families of the victims: We are praying for you and we are here for you, and we ask God to help see you through this very dark period,” he said, adding, “Our unity cannot be shattered by evil. Our bonds cannot be broken by violence.”
Sheriff Lombardo refuted rumours of further shootings and use of explosives such as car bombs in the famed city of casinos and nightclubs.
According to reports, Las Vegas attracts some 3.5 million visitors from around the world every year.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/58-die-in-deadliest-us-mass-shooting.html
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