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Crime

Live updates: At least 58 killed in Las Vegas shooting

October 2, 2017

Police say at least 58 people have been killed in a mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas. More than 500 were hurt. Police report the lone 64-year-old suspect killed himself as officers stormed his hotel room.

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USA Schießerei in Las Vegas
Image: Getty Images/D. Becker

— Officials in Las Vegas say at least 58 people were killed when a lone gunman opened fire on an outdoor country music concert late Sunday. The death toll makes the mass shooting the deadliest in modern US history. More than 515 victims have been taken to hospital with injuries, at least a dozen of them critical.

— Police have identified the suspected shooter as retired accountant Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada. Authorities say he killed himself before SWAT teams using explosives stormed the hotel room he had been firing from. They found more than 10 guns inside.

— Police have searched the suspect's home in Mesquite, and believe they have located the suspect's female "companion," as well as two vehicles registered to him.

— Investigators looking into the shooter's motive have rejected a claim of responsibility by the self-styled "Islamic State." They say they have found no evidence to suggest the attack was linked to an international terror group.

All updates in UTC

1647 Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the shooting as "shocking in its cruelty," according to a statement from the Kremlin. It said Putin had sent his condolences to President Trump and offered words of support to the families of the victims.   

1628 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has written to Trump, expressing her shock and dismay over the events.

"I was shocked by the news from Las Vegas. Our sympathy and condolences go to the relatives and families of the victims," she said.

1611 Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has praised health care workers and police in the wake of what he described as a cowardly, despicable act.

"We're angry, we're grieving, we're confused, people are hurting," he told reporters, after visiting victims receiving treatment in local hospitals.

1554 British Prime Minister Theresa May has called President Trump to pass on her condolences and offer help to investigators.

"This was an individual shooting randomly - a completely senseless and cowardly attack - and so many people have been killed and injured," May said in a televised interview.

"I have offered the United States every assistance that we can to support them in their investigation."

Two people hugging
Concertgoers comfort each other after Sunday's mass shooting claimed more than 50 livesImage: Getty Images/E.Miller

1546 The FBI says there is "no connection" between the shooter and an international terrorist group. The announcement came after the self-styled "Islamic State" claimed it was responsible for the attack.

1538 Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo says the death toll in Sunday's shooting has risen to at least 58, while the number of people injured is now 515. 

Lombardo told a press conference police were working to identify victims and notify families.  

1529 US President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation ordering that the US flag be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the mass shooting. The order covers the White House, all public and military buildings, as well as embassies and consular offices abroad.

1516 The brother of Stephen Paddock says he's "completely dumbfounded" by the music festival shooting. Eric Paddock told CBS News that his sibling was "not an avid gun guy at all."

"Where the hell did he get automatic weapons? He has no military background or anything like that," he said. "He's a guy who lived in a house in Mesquite, drove down and gambled in Las Vegas. He did stuff. Eat burritos."

1450 US President Donald Trump has called the Las Vegas shooting an "act of pure evil" during a brief televised address to the nation. 

Speaking from the White House, Trump said the country was feeling "sadness, shock and grief" and urged Americans to pull together.

'An act of pure evil' - US President Donald Trump reacts to Las Vegas shooting

"Our unity cannot be shattered by evil, our bonds cannot be broken by violence," he said. "It is our love that defines us today."

The president also paid tribute to the speedy response of police, who stormed the gunman's hotel room on the 32nd floor just minutes after the shooting began.

"The speed with which they acted is miraculous and prevented further loss of life," Trump said. "To have found the shooter so quickly after the first shots were fired is something for which we will always be thankful and grateful. It shows what true professionalism is all about."

Trump said he would travel to Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet with first responders and families affected by the tragedy.

Joe Lombardo (Las Vegas Police Department): 'Suspect was identified as Stephen Craig Paddock'

1423 The self-styled "Islamic State" has claimed responsibility for the Las Vegas shooting, saying the suspect converted to Islam several months ago. The extremist group said in a statement published by its Amaq news agency that the shooter had responded to "calls to target countries of the coalition." However, the group offered no evidence to back up its claim. 

Police say they have no information about the shooter's belief system or his motive.

1415 Las Vegas authorities are appealing for blood donations in the wake of the mass shooting. Police have also set up a hotline to report missing people and a family reunification center for people to find loved ones. 

1346 The White House says US President Donald Trump will address the nation in the next hour.

Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said officials "are monitoring the situation closely and offer our full support to state and local officials. All of those affected are in our thoughts and prayers."

1342 The US Department of Homeland Security says there is no "specific credible threat" involving other public venues in the United States following the attack. 

1326 Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo has told a press conference that the gunman who opened fire on concertgoers killed himself before SWAT officers broke into his hotel room.

"We believe the individual killed himself prior to our entry," Lombardo said, adding that police had found "in excess of 10 rifles" inside the room.

He added that the deceased suspect first checked into the Mandalay Bay casino-hotel on September 28.

Police cars in Las Vegas
Police form a perimeter near the Mandalay Hotel after a gunman opened fire from a 32-story roomImage: Getty Images/AFP/M. Ralston

1308 Mesquite Police Chief Troy Tanner says heavily armed officers have surrounded and entered the retirement community home where the suspected shooter is believed to have lived with a 62-year-old female companion. Police say they do not believe she was involved.

He said police were carrying out a search at the one-story, three-bedroom property in Mesquite, about about 80 miles (128 kilometers) north of Las Vegas near the Arizona state line.

1251 Pope Francis has said he is "deeply saddened" by the Las Vegas attack, calling it a "senseless tragedy."

A Vatican message delivered to the Roman Catholic bishop of the Nevada city said the pope "sends the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all those affected."

"He commends the efforts of the police and emergency service personnel, and offers the promise of his prayers for the injured and for all who have died," it added.

1246 Police now say at least 406 people were transported to hospitals for treatment after the shooting.

1111 US President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to react to the events.

1052 Police have established a hotline for people who are looking for missing relatives following the shooting.

1035 Police now say more than 50 people were killed in the attack and at least 200 were injured. Sheriff Joe Lombardo said he did not yet have a comprehensive casualty report.

"I do not want to give you an accurate number and have it be wrong," Lombardo told reporters at a news briefing early Monday.

Lombardo also named the suspect as 64-year-old Nevada resident Stephen Paddock. He said that officers had killed the man and "located numerous firearms within the room that he occupied."

A map of Las Vegas

The sheriff said officers had located two vehicles registered to Paddock that they had previously searched for, and were "confident, but not 100 percent sure" that they had located "the female person of interest," whom he had previously identified as the suspected shooter's roommate and "companion."

"This investigation is going to be long and contracted until we get to the bottom of everything associated with it," Lombardo said. Las Vegas police have requested "all the resources of the FBI to assist us in this investigation."   

0935 Mandalay Bay's parent company has tweeted that, at the request of law enforcement, it has "put hotels in the vicinity on lockdown to ensure guest safety."

0930 Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has responded to the attack on Twitter, calling the shooting a "tragic & heinous act of violence."

0900 Disturbing video has emerged from the scene.

Shooting at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas

0835 In a media briefing, Sheriff Joe Lombardo drastically raised the death toll in the shooting from two to more than 20. He said at least 100 people had been injured.

"I cannot give you an accurate number," Lombardo told reporters.

Lombardo said police had identified the shooter, who they believe acted alone, as a local resident but did not give further information. He said police were looking for the man's roommate for further questioning, as well as two vehicles registered to the suspect.

The sheriff said the shooter fired on the audience at the music festival from a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where officers later "engaged" and killed him. "We are comfortable that the primary aggressor in this event is expired or passed away," Lombardo said.

Lombardo called on anyone who had footage of the attack to submit it to law enforcement, including the FBI, which is assisting in the investigation. The Red Cross is fielding phone calls from people seeking information on missing relatives.

The sheriff said reports of related shootings at multiple sites on the Strip were false: "The scene is static." 

0750 Flights have resumed at McCarran Airport, but delays will continue.

0732 Officers do not believe that there are any more shooters.

0730 Police have confirmed that at least two people have died and two dozen suffered injuries in Sunday's shooting. 

0700 Police reported one suspect "down."

0640 As reports circulated online of police deploying to multiple venues, officers asked social media users not to share their "tactical positions."

"We want people to steer clear of the area," an officer told a short media briefing.

0520 The first reports started circulating that an active shooter or shooters had targeted fans at the Route 91 Harvest Festival of country music across from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the iconic Las Vegas Strip.

mkg/rt (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)