***Warning: this video may contain graphic content. ***
VIDEO: Rapid fire from shooter(s) in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/jgzCTQRUZP
— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) October 2, 2017
During the evening of October 1st, a tragedy occurred in Las Vegas as a shooter fired his gun towards an outdoor concert venue from a hotel.
So far, 58 people have been killed and 515 are wounded.
This shooting is the most deadly shooting in the U.S. history. It has resulted in more casualties than the Orlando nightclub shooting did that occurred in June last year. The Orlando shooting had 49 people killed.
Last night’s shooting occurred on the street across the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino where it is often crowded with tourists.
According to the U.S. press and local police, the shooter fired a machine gun at 10:08 PM from a guest room on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay Hotel. The shooter fired the gun towards an outdoor concert venue, and a large group of concert visitors were shot.
The police have said that 58 people were killed and 515 were wounded so far.
Earlier, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police’s Sheriff Joseph Lombardo have said “at least 20 people were killed and more than 100 are wounded.” However, the death toll rose rapidly.
Among the deaths, two were police officers.
The name of the shooter is Stephen Paddock (64), who is a Las Vegas resident.
Sheriff Lombardo said that the police do not know why Paddock committed the crime. Yet, they confirm that he acted by himself.
Fox News announced earlier that the police are looking for a woman named Marilou Danley, who might be Paddock’s accomplice. However, it was soon announced that Danley was not involved in the crime.
The shooting occurred while a country music festival ‘Route 91 Harvest’ was ongoing at a concert venue across Mandalay Bay.
The witnesses at the concert said they heard gunshots while singer Jason Aldean’s performance was ending. The concert was stopped immediately.
In the videos published on social media, sounds of a machine gun are heard for about 30 seconds before visitors started shouting and running away.
The concert venue ‘Las Vegas Village and Festival Grounds’ is 14 acres wide, which can take about 40,000 audiences.
Although the exact number of audiences has not been confirmed, witnesses said thousands of people were running away during the shooting.
When the gunshots were heard, a woman shouted “get down” and some others cried out.
A witness also said that he or she saw “a flash of light that looked like someone was shooting a machine gun from the hotel across the street.”
Another witness said, “after 30 seconds of gunshots, the sound paused for a moment and it was heard again for another 1 to 2 minutes.” The witness said that he or she first thought someone setting off fireworks.
Jason Aldean, who stopped his performance after the gunshot posted on Instagram:
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. #heartbroken #stopthehate
The police shut down the Strip area immediately, and SWAT agents were dispatched to the crime scene.
They said that the SWAT agents first searched 29th floor of Mandalay Bay Hotel and then went up to 32nd floor. The shooter reportedly committed a suicide before a SWAT agent went in to the room.
The police also searched the nearby hotel Luxor Hotel after someone reported that the hotel was suspicious. However, they announced that has been no shooting report in other areas.
Meanwhile, the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles, which also controls Las Vegas area announced that they are “trying to figure out if the shooting harmed Korean people, and there is no confirmed damage on Korean people so far.”
Original article
Translated by Audrey Joung
