Late Sunday night gunfire erupted at a Jason Aldean concert in Las Vegas. A lone gunman with ten rifles started unloading on the 22,000 concertgoers from a room in the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The suspect was Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada who had taken his own life by the time authorities arrived at his hotel room. So far his motives remain unclear. The shooter used the party like atmosphere to disguise his fire as concertgoer Mike Cronk told reporters that at first “it kind of sounded like fireworks going off. I think there was the first volley, and then all of a sudden the second volley. My buddy’s like, ‘I just got hit, you know.’ He got hit three times, then people starting diving for the ground. And it just continued.” The shooting seemed to continue as the shooter had stocked up several rifles, negating the need to reload. Michelle Leonard who was injured in the scramble said that the gunfire “kept going nonstop”, several witnesses suggest that the shooting continued for almost a minute without a break.The shooter used the party like atmosphere to disguise his fire as concertgoer Mike Cronk told reporters that at first “it kind of sounded like fireworks going off. I think there was the first volley, and then all of a sudden the second volley. My buddy’s like, ‘I just got hit, you know.’ He got hit three times, then people starting diving for the ground. And it just continued.” The shooting seemed to continue as the shooter had stocked up several rifles, negating the need to reload. Michelle Leonard who was injured in the scramble said that the gunfire “kept going nonstop”, several witnesses suggest that the shooting continued for almost a minute without a break.However one small glimmer of hope shined through, bystanders attended to the wounded using anything they could find to render aid, such as police barricades and even plugging wounds with their bare hands. These people didn’t know each other and who knows their professional background, but they jumped into action, and while the tragedy is horrible, we’re glad that Americans jumped into action to preserve as many lives as they could. Men like Brian Claypool, sought shelter and provided comfort to several people in the room with him, despite his fear, he tried to be calm and strong for them. “The hardest for me was, I saw six young women. They were maybe 20, 22. They were all crying on the ground, I was trying to be calm” Claypool told reporters. He continues “I said to myself ‘These girls aren’t going to die. I’m not going to die.” The steadfast resolve of strangers to take care of each other was stronger than the gunfire of the deranged mad man.However one small glimmer of hope shined through, bystanders attended to the wounded using anything they could find to render aid, such as police barricades and even plugging wounds with their bare hands. These people didn’t know each other and who knows their professional background, but they jumped into action, and while the tragedy is horrible, we’re glad that Americans jumped into action to preserve as many lives as they could. Men like Brian Claypool, sought shelter and provided comfort to several people in the room with him, despite his fear, he tried to be calm and strong for them. “The hardest for me was, I saw six young women. They were maybe 20, 22. They were all crying on the ground, I was trying to be calm” Claypool told reporters. He continues “I said to myself ‘These girls aren’t going to die. I’m not going to die.” The steadfast resolve of strangers to take care of each other was stronger than the gunfire of the deranged madman. This shooting marks the largest loss of life in a mass shooting in the United States with more than 50 people killed and over 400 people wounded. President Trump and Governor Brian Sandoval also offered their prayers to the victims affected by the cowardly act. We offer our sincerest condolences to the victims of this heinous act.This shooting marks the largest loss of life in a mass shooting in the United States with more than 50 people killed and over 400 people wounded. President Trump and Governor Brian Sandoval also offered their prayers to the victims affected by the cowardly act. We offer our sincerest condolences to the victims of this heinous act.Here is an official statement from LVPD:LVMPD Identifies Suspect in Sunday Night Shooting on the Strip An Estimated 406 People Transported to Hospitals, 50 Dead
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department identified the lone suspect involved in the latenight mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip as 64-year-old, Stephen Craig Paddock, a white male from Mesquite, Nevada.Paddock opened fire on a crowd of more than 22,000 concert-goers from his hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel on Sunday evening at approximately 10:08 p.m. The victims were across the street attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival concert when bullets rang out. LVMPD SWAT responded to the call, breached the hotel room and found the suspect dead.The Clark County Fire Department estimated that approximately 406 people were transported to area hospitals and 50 are dead following Sunday evening’s shooting. Among the dead is an LVMPD officer who was off-duty at the time. His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. There were also two on-duty officers injured, one of whom was upgraded recently from critical to stable condition. The other sustained non-life threatening wounds.This is still an active investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigations is asking for anyone with videos or photos concerning the shooting to call 1-800-CALLFBI or (800) 225-5324. LVMPD and Clark County Coroner’s Office have set up a hotline for family or friends to report a missing loved one connected to this incident. The hotline is only to take reports on missing people. The number is (866) 535-5654. LVMPD also opened up a family reunification center at its headquarters at 400 S. Martin L. King Blvd. in Building B. The identification process of all of the injured and the deceased will take time, so authorities are asking the public for patience.
Read more news articles here.