At least fifty people have been killed and more than five-hundred injured in the deadliest mass shooting in US history at a Las Vegas concert on Sunday.
A gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel toward an open-air music festival being held close by.
Police said a suspect identified as a local resident had been shot and killed by officers.
The suspected gunman has been named as 64-year-old Nevada resident, Stephen Paddock.
A Swat team used a controlled explosion to enter the hotel room, where they shot Paddock – of Mesquite, Nevada – dead.
Police: More than 20 people killed and “well in excess of 100 injured” in #LasVegas shooting pic.twitter.com/qZ4pDWNXH3
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 2, 2017
At this time there is in excess of 50 deceased and over 200 injured individuals.
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) October 2, 2017
Hundreds of people fled the scene and the sound of prolonged automatic gunfire could be heard on videos posted on social media.
There had been reports of other incidents at different locations along the Las Vegas strip, but police say they believe the dead suspect acted alone.
Las Vegas police say the number of people injured now stands at 515. Among those killed was an off-duty police officer.
Active shooters at Mandalay Bay/Route 91 with automatic weapons & people down. Stay away from the Vegas strip! pic.twitter.com/81D6GEEInu
— Justin Aaron Morris (@IAMJUSTINAARON) 2 Οκτωβρίου 2017
FBI Special Agent Aaron Rouse told a news conference: “We have determined at this point no connection to an international terrorist organisation.”
Islamic State (IS) had claimed to be behind the attack, saying that Paddock had converted to Islam some months ago.
But the group provided no evidence for this and has made unsubstantiated claims in the past.
In an address from the White House, President Donald Trump described the attack as “pure evil”.
He praised the efforts of the emergency services, saying their “miraculous” speed saved lives, and announced he would be visiting Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Paddock’s motives remain unclear. Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo described the shooting as a “lone wolf” attack. “We have no idea what his belief system was,” he said.
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