50 Dead in Las Vegas Shooting; Gunman Identified

Shooter identified as Stephen Paddock of Nevada, 64; no motive is known
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 2, 2017 4:41 AM CDT
Updated Oct 2, 2017 5:43 AM CDT
Sheriff: At Least 20 Killed in Las Vegas Mass Shooting
Police released this photo of Marilou Danley, believed to have been the gunman's traveling companion.   (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

At least 50 people are dead in Sunday night's mass shooting on the Las Vegas strip, which CNN reports would make it the deadliest such attack in US history. Approximately 200 more were injured when a gunman opened fire on a country music festival from the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street, the Las Vegas Sun reports. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo says the gunman is dead, and authorities have identified him as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada. No motive is known. "Right now we believe it's a sole actor, a lone wolf type actor," says Lombardo. "It's a devastating time." The latest:

  • "We do not know what his belief system was at this time," says Lombardo of the shooter. Police have tracked down the suspect's traveling companion, a woman named Marilou Danley. Police earlier tweeted a photo of Danley as a person of interest.
  • Lombardo says two off-duty police officers who were attending the concert are among the dead, the AP reports. Two others were injured, including one who is in critical condition, he says.

  • The sheriff confirmed that the gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, where he was killed after being confronted by officers, the Guardian reports. He says reports that there were other shooters at other Las Vegas hotels turned out to be false.
  • Witnesses described fear and panic as what sounded like shots from an automatic weapon rang out during country star Jason Aldean's performance. "It was a horror show," concertgoer Ivetta Saldana tells Las Vegas Review-Journal. "People were standing around, then they hit the floor." She says she ended up hiding in a sewer.
  • Concertgoer Meghan Kearney says she heard what sounded like firecrackers, followed by a machine gun. She says there were hundreds of people on the ground as she ran from the area. "People were getting shot one foot away from us," she tells NBC. "People were trying to save their friends. There were gunshots everywhere."
  • "Tonight has been beyond horrific," Aldean said on Instagram. "I still dont know what to say but wanted to let everyone know that Me and my Crew are safe. 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."
  • President Trump has been briefed on the shooting, and tweeted his "warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!"
(More Las Vegas stories.)

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