The Nevada Sheriff says more than 50 people are dead and at least 200 people are injured after a man opened fire on an outdoor concert late on Sunday.
Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo says officers confronted the suspect on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street from the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Authorities say the man is dead. He was not named at first, but has been identified as Las Vegas resident Stephen Paddock.
Several officers from the local police department were attending the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on Sunday when Paddock is accused of having opened fire. One was shot and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Lombardo confirmed two off-duty officers have died.
The Sheriff said it was believed this was a "lone wolf" attack but said they are looking for a roommate of the dead suspect as a person of interest, thought to be a woman.
Concert-goers reported seeing muzzle flashes from the upper floors of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across Las Vegas Boulevard from the country music festival and the sound of what they described as automatic gun fire. Witnesses said they saw multiple victims and dozens of ambulances near the concert venue. Some attendees later huddled in the basement of the nearby Tropicana hotel-casino while officers carrying assault rifles ran into the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Authorities shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip and Interstate 15. Flights were temporarily halted at McCarran International Airport because of the shooting, the airport said on its verified Twitter account.
Country music star Jason Aldean took to social media to say he and his crew are safe after the gunman opened fire.
Aldean was in the middle of his performance when the bullets rained down on the crowd. He posted on Instagram hours later, calling the shooting "beyond horrific."
President Donald Trump has extended condolences to the victims of the shooting in Las Vegas and their families.
In a tweet on Monday, Trump offered "My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!"
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was "briefed on the horrific tragedy inLas Vegas." Sanders added that "we are monitoring the situation closely."
This story is still developing and will be updated.
From: Cosmopolitan UK
