59 Dead After Las Vegas Shooting

Las Vegas, shooting

Las Vegas, shooting

On the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday night, Oct. 1, 2017, thousands of people were at a Route 91 Harvest music festival, at least 59 people died and 527 people were injured because of a shooter from the window of the Mandalay Bay Resort and the panic that ensued.

One of the 59 people who died was an off-duty police officer who was attending the concert. The shooter of is also dead from a self-inflicted gun shot. Police are still trying to figure out the shooters motive. Around 10:08 p.m. PT, gun shots were reported at the three-day Route 91 Harvest concert.

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said, at a news briefing, the shooter acted as a “lone wolf.” He has been identified as Stephen Paddock, age 64. He was a white male and a resident of Nevada. A news outlet linked to the terrorist group ISIS, says they are responsible for the attack. They also claim that Paddock had converted to Islam. FBI Las Vegas special agent in charge Aaron Rouse said on Monday the agency, up to this point, has determined there is no connection between Paddock and an international terrorist group.

Police face the “long process of body recovery out there, and evidence recovery and evidence documentation,” according to Lombardo. Some local officials pitched in by asking people to donate blood through United Blood Services. This incident had was followed by a massive response. Long lines prompted the service to deploy donation vehicles and open more facilities to the public. Other people showed up to distribute water and snacks to those who waited in line.

“Please donate blood.”, said Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman. “A crazed lunatic” is what Goodman called the gunman. This attack was the opposite of the city’s values. According to police, Paddock fired down on more than 22,000 people from his room on the 32 floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

A SWAT team used an explosive to open the door to find the suspect was dead. Paddock killed himself, according to police. In the room. they found 22 riffles. The tragic death toll seems to likely rise in what is now being called the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

“At first I though the gunshots were fireworks,” said one if the witnesses. People did not know where to run because they did not know where the bullets were coming from. Two on-duty police officers were shot, one is in stable condition after surgery, and the other one suffered minor injuries.

President Donald J. Trump called the massacre an “act of pure evil.” Trump said, “We cannot fathom their pain, we cannot imagine their lose.” He announced that he would visit the troubled Nevada city on Wednesday. He mourned the victims of the massacre. “My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!” Trump said in a tweet. “In moments of tragedy and horror, America comes together as one and it always has.”

Written by Antwon Rogers
Edited by Jeanette Smith

Sources:

NPR: Las Vegas Shooting Update: At Least 58 People Are Dead After Gunman Attacks Concert
CNN: Trump on Las Vegas massacre: ‘An act of pure evil’
New York Times: How the Shooting in Las Vegas Unfolded

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of James Marvin Phelps’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

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