In the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, over 59 were killed and 500 wounded as a gunman opened fire on concert-goers at a music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday night. Officials have identified the gunman as Stephen Paddock. Petrified country music fans ducked and ran as the shooter launched a barrage of gunfire at them during the ongoing Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Paddock, 64, began shooting from two windows on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
A SWAT team found him dead in his hotel room and believe he killed himself. Authorities said he had as many as 23 firearms in his hotel suite where he had been staying since September 28. They also found another 19 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, explosives, and electronics at his home at a retirement community in Mesquie, Nevada, 75 miles away from Las Vegas. FBI Special Agent in Charge, Aaron Rouse said the bureau had found “no connection with an international terrorist group”. His motive continues to be under investigation.
The Las Vegas Police Department said authorities responded to a room of the hotel where Paddock was found dead. Assistant Sheriff for Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Todd Fasulo said detectives were working to put the suspect's movements “in chronological order” and will release information when its accuracy is confirmed. “Our homicide detectives are working around the clock to process the scene as soon as they possibly can,” Fasulo said at a press briefing. “We’re hunting down and tracing down every single clue that we can get in his background.”
Former accountant with a massive gambling habit, Paddock reportedly lived with a woman called Marilou Danley who was in Japan and does not appear to be involved in the shootings. Despite the huge cache of weapons found in his home, brother Eric struggles to accept he did what he did. He said he was “in shock, horrified, completely dumbfounded.” He said, “No religious affiliation. No political affiliation. He just hung out. He had a couple of guns but they were all handguns, legal. He might have had one long gun, but he had them in a safe.” He even said his brother was a multimillionaire who made much of his money investing in real estate adding he wasn't aware of him having financial difficulties. Those killed in the massacre include a Navy veteran who had just returned from a tour of Afghanistan, and an off-duty police officer who also coached youth football.
President Donald Trump called the shooting “an act of pure evil”, hailing first responders. He said the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are working with local officials in the investigation. He failed to acknowledge the attack as an act of terrorism. Meanwhile, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the shooting, however, did not offer proof. Officials said there are no signs of Paddock having ties to radical Islamic groups, and neither did he show any signs of being radicalised.
British Prime Minister Theresa May expressed doubts on whether the massacre will prompt the US to act on gun reform. “I think it's up to America what gun laws they put in place. I think most people would look at this and assume that people in America would be so shocked by this attack that they would want to take some action,” she said. But others, she added, “will take a different view.”
