At least 58 people were killed and more than 500 were injured after a shooting at a country music concert late Sunday night outside the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. Police say the suspect fired a weapon from a 32nd-floor window. It is believed he fired a fully-automatic weapon. Country music star Jason Aldean was performing on stage when shots rung out. Police believe the shooter acted as a "lone wolf," but believe he may have had a female accomplice. Tens of thousands of people were at the concert.
The shots began ringing out around 10 p.m. local time, or around 1 a.m. EST. It is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
Law enforcement named the suspect as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, according to NBC News. Paddock was a resident of Mesquite, Nevada, which is about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Fox News and the Washington Post reported Paddock was already dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound when police arrived. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo corroborated the cause of death at a news conference. Paddock reportedly had cameras inside his room to monitor police activity.
Authorities named 62-year-old Marilou Danley as a "person of interest" in the crime. They have located her. However, Fox News reported around 8 a.m. EST that police no longer believe she was involved in the shooting.
Paddock's motive is not yet known. Police say they found at least 10 rifles in Paddock's hotel room. They have also executed a search warrant on his Nevada residence, according to ABC News.
Paddock was "known to local authorities," according to NBC News. However, Lombardo said at a morning news conference that Paddock was only cited by authorities one previous time, though he didn't elaborate. He said the citation was handled by the court system.
Fox News reported that police were able to quickly locate which room Paddock was shooting from because he was firing so many shots that his hotel room filled with smoke and set off the smoke detector.
Lombardo said they believe Paddock had been in his hotel room since Thursday.
Early reports indicated police don't believe the situation is an incident of Islamic terrorism. However, the Associated Press reported shortly after 10 a.m. EST that the Islamic State has taken credit for the massacre, saying that Paddock converted to Islam just months ago.
Outside of the number killed and injured, authorities have released no information about the victims. However, according to Fox News, it is known that at least two off-duty police officers were killed at the concert. Las Vegas police say two on-duty officers were injured.
(Content warning: The following videos are graphic):
EYEWITNESS: Chilling footage of moment active shooter opened fire on concert goers near Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/7OfAwg0ReO
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) October 2, 2017
EYEWITNESS: Shock footage of moment active shooter opened fire on concert goers near Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/x8XoNrfJ3G
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) October 2, 2017
EYEWITNESS: More horrifying footage of moment active shooter opened fire on concert goers near Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/DKtiIQyDST
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) October 2, 2017
President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences early Monday morning:
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval also tweeted:
This is an evolving story. This report will be updated as events warrant.
Chris Enloe
Staff Writer