Search form

You are here

  • Home
  • Gunman slays at least 58 in Las Vegas shooting, deadliest in US history


Gunman slays at least 58 in Las Vegas shooting, deadliest in US history

1 / 6
People carry a peson at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AFP)
2 / 6
LAS VEGAS, NV — OCTOBER 01 People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are reports of an active shooter around the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. David Becker/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
3 / 6
People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AFP)
4 / 6
Police officers advise people to take cover near the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
5 / 6
A police officer runs along a sidewalk near a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
6 / 6
A person lies on the ground covered with blood at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AFP)
Updated 02 October 2017
Arab News
Follow

Gunman slays at least 58 in Las Vegas shooting, deadliest in US history

Updated 02 October 2017
Arab News

At least 58 people have been killed and more than 515 injured after a gunman opened fire at a 22,000-strong audience of Country music fans attending a festival in Las Vegas - before killing himself police said.
The death toll, which police emphasized was preliminary and tentative, would make the attack the deadliest mass shooting in US history, eclipsing last year’s massacre of 49 people at an Orlando night club.
The gunman was identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, a local resident, who killed himself after first carrying out the massacre.

There were 22,000 people at the concert that was being held at an outdoor area known as Las Vegas Village, across the Strip from the Mandalay Bay and the Luxor hotels.
Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told an early morning press conference the gunfire came from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, where the Paddock was found dead.
A federal law enforcement official told USA Today that they found a cache of weapons inside the hotel room where Paddock died, where investigators believe he carried out the massacre.
Police have said they do not believe this was an act of terror, but media have described Paddock as “alt-left” and anti-Trump.
Paddock shot himself before police entered the hotel room he was firing from, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters.
Earlier reports indicated that Paddock, who had more than 10 rifles in his hotel room, had been shot by police.
The suspected shooter's brother, Eric Paddock, said the family was stunned by the news.

“We have no idea. We’re horrified. We’re bewildered and our condolences go out to the victims,” Eric Paddock said in a brief telephone interview, his voice trembling. “We have no idea in the world.”
Lombardo said the suspect acted alone and was not believed to be connected to any militant group.
“We have no idea what his belief system was,” he said. “Right now, we believe he was the sole aggressor and the scene is static.”
Initially Lombardo said police were interested in his traveling companion, who was also described as his roommate. He named the woman as Marilou Danley. But gave no details of whether she was suspected of involvement in the attack but described her as an “associate.”
It was later suggested in media reports that she had been located. Authorities later on Monday said they no longer regarded her as related to the case, CNN and Fox News reported, citing police sources.
“We are pretty confident there is no longer a threat other than we are attempting to locate the person of interest.
“It’s an ongoing investigation. Right now, we believe he is the sole aggressor at this point.”
US President Donald Trump tweeted his response hours after the incident had happened, offering his condolences to the victims and families of the shooting.

The dead included one off-duty police officer, Lombardo said. Two on-duty officers were injured, including one who was in stable condition after surgery and one who sustained minor injuries, Lombardo said. Police warned the death toll may rise.
Police are still finding people who had taken cover during the attack, Lombardo said. "It's going to take time for us to get through the evacuation phase," Lombardo said.
Police had swarmed the Las Vegas strip late Sunday following reports of multiple shots fired from the Mandalay Bay casino, police and US media reported.
Best-selling country singer Jason Aldean was on stage at the time of the shooting which came towards the end of the concert.
Video footage circulating on social media showed a large crowd enjoying a concert as part of the Route 91 country music festival just outside the casino before what sounded like volleys of automatic gunfire halted the performance.
“We were watching the concert having a great time, then we heard what sounded like firecrackers,” witness Joe Pitz told the local Las Vegas Sun news outlet.
“I guess it was an automatic weapon going off but it literally sounded like firecrackers… Then soon enough there was commotion on the Mandalay Bay side of the stage. They were motioning for medics to come and safety people to come and Jason Aldean ran off the stage.
“Everybody in the vicinity went down. I don't know if they were ducking or if they were but it was chaos.”
A shocked Aldean told his fans via Instagram that he and his band was safe.
“Tonight has been beyond horrific,” the singer wrote.
“I still dont know what to say ... 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.”

In the Twitter footage as people begin to realize what is happening, some crouch down on the ground, while others start to flee.
Police had earlier said they were investigating reports of an active shooter near the Mandalay Bay Casino.
Witnesses speaking to CNN described the scene. “We heard (what) sounded like a glass breaking, so you looked around to see what’s going on and then heard a pop, pop, pop,” Monique Dekerf said. “You’d think for a moment okay we’re fine, there’s no more gunfire, then it starts again.”
Another told the network that it sounded like the “shots were coming from the right side ... it sounded like they were right beside us too ... it was right there.”
This video captured the moment gunshots were heard as the band performed live on stage. First there appears to be confusion as the music suddenly stops, then more gunfire can be heard.

One Twitter user posted that the casino hotel was on lockdown, while another, citing police scanners, said two gunmen who had shot at a bodyguard and police were on the 32nd floor.
Video clips posted online showed what sounded like automatic weapons as panicked concertgoers fled, dropped to the ground screaming.
Witnesses heard numerous gunshots at the hotel, where police tactical teams were searching for the attacker, according to reports on CNN and in the New York Times.

Flights at Mccarran International Airport were temporarily halted after the reported shooting, the airport said on Twitter.
Police have said multiple casualties have been taken to hospital with gunshot wounds.
In this video posted on Twitter people can be seen lying on the ground as bursts of gunfire can be heard.
As people try to flee another burst and people dive to the ground.

Heavy machine gun fire can be heard on mobile phone footage posted on Twitter.

Further video footage appears to show victims being carried out on makeshift stretchers as a woman in a vehicle is asked to help take the wounded to hospital.

 
(With Reuters, AFP and AP)

Topics: crime Las Vegas United States Stephen Paddock alt-left mass murderer

CIA tracked Iranian leaders for months ahead of attacks that began with 3 strikes in 60 seconds

Updated 8 sec ago
AP
Follow

CIA tracked Iranian leaders for months ahead of attacks that began with 3 strikes in 60 seconds

Updated 8 sec ago
AP
WASHINGTON: Israeli and American authorities spent weeks tracking the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sharing information that allowed the strikes to be carried out in a surprise daylight attack, according to an Israeli military official and a person familiar with the operation.
The eventual barrage of US-Israeli attacks on Iran came so quickly that they were nearly simultaneous — with three strikes in three locations hitting within a single minute — killing Khamenei and some 40 senior figures, including the head of the Revolutionary Guard and the country’s defense minister, the Israeli military official said Sunday.
The official insisted on anonymity to more fully detail the attack, but said that a variety of factors created a golden opportunity to take out much of Iran’s leadership, like weeks of training and monitoring the movements of senior figures as well as intelligence in real-time before the attack began that key targets were gathered together.
Striking by day also gave an additional element of surprise, said the official, who said that so many major, rapid-fire strikes were critical to keep key officials from fleeing after the first strike. The official said Israel closely cooperated with its US counterparts and had used a similar tactic at the beginning of last June’s war — which resulted in the killing of several senior Iranian figures.
The official also noted Khamenei having posted defiant tweets taunting President Donald Trump in the days before the attack.
The details about the strikes came as the conflict entered its second day, with Trump saying in a video message Sunday that he expected it would continue until “all of our objectives are achieved.” He did not spell out what those objectives were.
The Republican president also said the US military and its partners hit hundreds of targets in Iran, including paramilitary Revolutionary Guard facilities, Iranian air defense systems and nine warships, “all in a matter of literally minutes.”
CIA had long tracked top Iranian leaders
Before the attacks, the CIA had for months tracked the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including the country’s supreme leader.
The intelligence was shared with Israeli officials, and the timing of the strikes was adjusted in part because of that information about the Iranian leaders’ location, according to the person, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The intelligence-sharing between US and Israel reflects the preparation that went into the strikes, which continued for a second day Sunday after Khamenei’s killing threw the future of the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and raised the risk of escalating regional conflict.
Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that tracking the movements of the supreme leader and the heads of other adversarial nations “is obviously one of the highest priorities of our intelligence community.”
The US regularly shares intelligence with allies including Israel. Those partnerships, and the accuracy of the intelligence they yield, is often critical not only to the success of a military operation but also to the public’s support for it.
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the committee, told The Associated Press that, historically, “our working relationship with the Mossad and Israel is really strong.” Mossad is the Israeli spy agency.
Warner said he has serious concerns about the justification for the strikes, Trump’s long-term plans for the conflict and the risks that US service members will face. The military announced that three American troops had been killed in the Iran operation.
“No tears will be shed over their leadership being eliminated, but always the question is: OK, what next?” Warner said.
Iran has signaled it’s open to talks with the US
A senior White House official said Iran’s “new potential leadership” has suggested it is open to talks with the United States. That official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations, said Trump has indicated he’s “eventually” willing to talk but that for now the military operation “continues unabated.”
The official did not say who the potential new Iranian leaders are or how they made their alleged willingness to talk known. Separately, Trump told The Atlantic that he planned to speak with Iran’s new leadership.
“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” he said Sunday, declining comment on the timing.
The potential future diplomatic opening comes as the details were emerging about the detailed planning that went into the US-Israeli strikes and some of the targets that were hit in Iran.
US Central Command said that B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. That mirrors the approach that the military took in June, when Trump agreed to deploy B-2 bombers to attack three key Iranian nuclear sites.
Trump said during his State of the Union speech last week that Iran had been building ballistic missiles that could reach the US homeland — a justification he repeated again Saturday as he announced that the bombardment of Iran was underway.
Iran has not acknowledged that it is building or seeking to build intercontinental ballistic missiles. The US Defense Intelligence Agency, however, said in an unclassified report last year that Iran could develop a militarily viable intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035 “should Tehran decide to pursue the capability.”

Latest updates

CIA tracked Iranian leaders for months ahead of attacks that began with 3 strikes in 60 seconds
Gaza’s ceasefire had some momentum. Now, some fear a new war will distract the world
Trump tells Iranian forces to surrender or face ‘certain death’
Philippines, US, Japanese planes drill over Bashi Channel
What We Are Reading Today: When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.