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At least 50 people have been killed and more than 400 fiercely wounded after a gunman opened fire on the crowd at a country music festival in Las Vegas, U.S.A in the evening of Sunday, 1st October 2017, mowing down concertgoers and sparking panic around the city’s gambling Strip.
The attack is the deadliest mass shooting in US history, worse than last year’s Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting that left 49 dead.
The Las Vegas police said the suspected gunman, named as 64-year-old Mr. Stephen Paddock, fired shots from his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino into the crowd of 22,000 attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival. The police further disclosed that the resident of Mesquite, Nevada who was working as a “lone wolf”, was thought to have killed himself before they entered his room.
The Police were executing a search warrant at his home early in the morning of Monday, 2nd October 2017. It was confimed that the suspect had no “derogatory” information on his police record besides a “citation” several years ago, said Mr. Sheriff Joseph Lombardo at a press conference.
Mr. Lombardo said the police were confident that they had located Marilou Danley, described as a companion of Mr. Paddock, as well as two related vehicles, a Hyundai Tucson and a Chrysler Pacifica.
It was gathered that the suspect, Mr. Paddock had been staying in the hotel room since September 28, 2017.
Mr. Eric Paddock, a brother of the suspected shooter, said outside his home in Florida, U.S.A that he and his family were in utter shock over the shooting: “We have no idea why he did this. He was not an avid gun guy at all. The fact that he had those kind of weapons is just..... where the hell did he get automatic weapons? He has no military background,” he told a local television channel.
The US President, Mr. Donald Trump had offered his condolences, tweeting: “My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!”
In televised remarks, Mr. Trump called the shooting “an act of pure evil” but made no reference to guns. He said he would visit Las Vegas on Wednesday, 4th October 2017 to meet the families of the victims and law enforcement. “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.
The immediate President of the US, Mr. Barack Obama who previously revealed that his inability to push Congress to pass tougher gun control laws was his biggest regret, also offered his condolences. “Michelle and I are praying for the victims in Las Vegas. Our thoughts are with their families and everyone enduring another senseless tragedy,” he tweeted.
The massacre is the latest mass shooting to occur in the US, where the prospects for increased gun control are very limited, particularly with the Republicans in control of the White House and Congress, given their concerns about weakening the Second Amendment of the Constitution which gives Americans the right to bear arms.
Other shootings with large numbers of fatalities include the massacre at Virginia Tech in 2007 where 32 people were killed, and the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut where 20 children and six adults were slain by a lone gunman.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, a group that monitors gun violence in the US, there have been 274 mass shootings — defined as those in which at least four people were killed or injured — this year being 2017.
More than 11,000 people have been slain by guns in 2017, while just under 3,000 children have been injured or killed.
Video from the festival in Las Vegas showed people screaming “get down” and hiding amid the sound of rapid and sustained gunfire. One witness described a moment of “panic” as he saw several people shot.
Photos showed frenetic scenes, with armed police rushing in as paramedics pulled bloodied victims away from the crowds. “Terrifying is an understatement. There is no word to explain what I felt,” said a concertgoer, who described feeling helpless as others were struck by bullets.
At least 406 people had been transported to local hospitals, the police said. University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, the region’s biggest trauma hospital, received 50 patients, with several in critical condition. Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center had also received patients.
News programmes showed a flood of police and ambulances in the area. In a sign of the chaos that broke out in the city, other hotels and casinos in the vicinity were put on lockdown following the incident. Flights into and out of Las Vegas were temporarily halted, according to McCarran International Airport.
Video showed parts of the Las Vegas Strip nearly empty except for the emergency services, in stark contrast to normal evenings and early mornings when the area is packed with revellers.
Almost 43 million people visited Las Vegas last year, generating about $9.7bn in countrywide gambling revenues, according to the Convention and Visitors Authority. The Mandalay Bay itself is a sprawling complex, with more than 3,000 hotel rooms and a large casino and many restaurants.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of last night’s tragic events. We’re grateful for the immediate actions of our first responders,” said MGM Resorts International, owner of the Mandalay Bay. Initial reports of the incident began coming into police headquarters about 10pm local time, Mr. Lombardo said.
Witnesses, many of whom initially thought they were hearing fireworks, said the singer Jason Aldean was on stage when the shooting began. The performer said on Instagram that “Tonight has been beyond horrific. It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night,” said Mr. Aldean.
Nevada has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the U.S, allowing people to buy a gun without a permit. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democratic Senator who has been one of the most vocal proponents for tougher gun control, blamed his congressional colleagues for not doing more. “Last night’s massacre may go down as the deadliest in our . . . history, but already this year there have been more mass shootings than days in the year,” he said.
“The thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference. It’s time for Congress to get off its ass and do something.” Senator Murphy landed.
Scripted by: Rostrum
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