LAS VEGAS: A gunman killed 50 people and wounded hundreds more when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
Police said today the gunman, a Nevada resident identified as Stephen Paddock, had been found dead after a SWAT team responded to reports of multiple gunfire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, a hotel-casino next to the concert venue.
“We believe the individual killed himself prior to our entry,” Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told a news conference in the Nevada gambling hub.
At least eight rifles were recovered from the room that had been rented by the 64-year-old.
Concert-goers screamed and fled in panic as a steady stream of automatic gunfire rang out at the venue shortly after 10 pm (local time yesterday), footage captured on smartphones showed.
Lombardo told reporters that initial estimates had put the number of dead “at in excess of 50 individuals” while more than 200 had been injured.
In a later statement, police put the number of dead at 50 and said the number of people taken to hospital at approximately 406, although it was not immediately clear if that figure included anyone who was later pronounced dead.
Police said Paddock, who lived in a town around 130 kilometers of Las Vegas, had opened fire on the crowds below from the upper reaches of the giant hotel located on the famous Las Vegas Strip. (AGENCIES)
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