A gunman, named as 64 year old local resident Mr Stephen Paddock, opened fire with an automatic rifle from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas towards an open-air music festival attended by 22,000 people just hours ago.
The updates from this horrific event in Las Vegas which is now officially the largest mass shooting in US history keep dripping in. We’ll give you the latest details as we are receiving them.
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There are so far 50 dead and 406 wounded.
Police confirmed that they have now located the gunman’s companion, Ms Marilou Danley. She was identified as a 62 year old Australian woman. The vehicles of the shooter the police was looking for were also found.
The gunman's brother, Mr Eric Paddock, did a short telephone interview: "We have no idea. We're horrified. We're bewildered and our condolences go out to the victims."
The Mandalay Bay hotel, from where the shooting took place, went on virtual lockdown shortly after the shooting. A guest of the hotel, Mr Todd Price explained : “We went into the hotel and they started shutting down casinos. We tried to get into our rooms, and they shut down the elevators and started to get everybody out.”
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The performer on stage during the shooting, Mr Jason Aldean, could be seen running off stage in panic as the shooting started.
He later informed his fans that he was fine and sent out his condolences to the victims: "Tonight has been beyond horrific. I still don't know what to say but wanted to let everyone know that me and my crew are safe. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved tonight. It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night."
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President Trump has been informed of the events. He sent out his condolences to the victims and families of the Las Vegas Shooting.
Another witness to the events, Mr Mike Thompson, said that he saw people running in total panic: "One man had blood all over him and that's when I knew something was seriously wrong. People were running and there was chaos."
Source:
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2017/10/02/shooting-shuts-las-vegas-strip
