Las Vegas shooting: Gunman Stephen Paddock kills 50 people
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| Hundreds of concert-goers fled the scene or ducked for cover amid heavy gunfire |
A gunman, named as 64-year-old Nevada resident Stephen Paddock, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel towards an open-air music festival attended by 22,000.
He was found dead after officers stormed the room where a number of guns were found.
The attack is the worst mass shooting in recent US history.
US President Donald Trump tweeted his "warmest condolences and sympathies" to the victims and their families, and called the shooting "terrible".
Sheriff Joe Lombardo described the shooting as a "lone wolf" attack and there was no information about Paddock's motives.
"We have no idea what his belief system was," he said.
Police say he may have shot himself.
Sheriff Lombardo added that police were now confident they had located a woman, earlier named as Marilou Danley, who was thought to have been travelling with the gunman before the attack.
A police statement said the shooting began at 22:08 local time on Sunday (05:08 GMT on Monday). Paddock was described as a white male from Mesquite, some 60 miles (100 km) north-east of Las Vegas.
Fire officials said 406 people were taken to hospitals.
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'Attack will stun America'
By the BBC's James Cook, in Las Vegas
This has been a mass shooting which has shocked Las Vegas - it has stunned this city. It is very clear that it will be an event which will stun the USA too, a country in which, regrettably, such mass shootings - even if on a lesser scale - are not uncommon.
As to to why the gunman may have carried out this attack, there is no indication of motive at this stage. He was said to have had a large arsenal, a huge number of weapons in that hotel room, which police finally stormed using explosives.
As to why he would have set himself up up there in that way, to do as he did, it is just so, so difficult to fathom.
Witnesses reported that hundreds of shots were fired.
Hundreds of people fled the scene and the sound of what appeared to be prolonged automatic gunfire could be heard on videos posted on social media.
Many hotels on the Las Vegas strip close to the scene remained on police lockdown and parts of Las Vegas Boulevard were shut.
People sheltered in hotels, restaurants and at Las Vegas McCarran airport.
A witness, Mike Thompson from London, told the BBC 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."
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- Concert-goer Mike McGarry told Reuters he lay on top of his children when the shots rang out."They're 20, I'm 53. I lived a good life," he said.They survived.
There was a heavily armed police response to the incident - Some flights were diverted after news of the incident emerged.The country music festival had been taking place since Friday at several hotels on the Las Vegas strip.Singer Jason Aldean, who was rushed off stage when the shooting started, shared on Instagram that he was safe but heartbroken and did not know what to say."Tonight has been beyond horrific," he wrote."It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night."
Nevada has some of the least stringent gun laws in the United States.People are allowed to carry weapons and do not have to register themselves as a gun-owner.Background checks are done when people buy guns, but they are also allowed to sell them privately.
A couple at the concert take cover after gunfire was heard at country music festival
Armed police are pictured outside Mandalay Bay hotel
Source: BBC World News.
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