Shooter At Las Vegas Concert Kills 20, Injures Over 100

At least 20 people were killed and more than 100 wounded after a gunman on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino opened fire on an outdoor music festival on the Las Vegas Strip late Sunday, according to the WSJ.  Police said they were first alerted to reports of an incident at 10:08 p.m. and then determined there was a shooter on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino who was targeting the nearby Route 91 Harvest Festival.

Officers confronted the suspect at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street from the concert, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said.

Authorities say the man died. Police did not release the suspect’s name but said he was a local resident.

Lombardo said they believe this was a “lone wolf” attack but said they were looking for a roommate of the dead suspect as a person of interest. The two slain off-duty officers were attending the concert, Lombardo said. An on-duty officer was in critical condition and another was wounded, Lombardo said.

Concertgoers reported seeing muzzle flashes from the 32 floor of the Mandalay Bay across Las Vegas Boulevard from the country music festival and the sound of what they described as automatic gunfire.

Video footage captured the moment an active shooter opened fire at the concert on the Las Vegas strip.

Witnesses said they saw multiple victims as they fled the gunfire raining down on the concert venue. Some later huddled in the basement of the nearby Tropicana hotel-casino.

Joseph Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a briefing that officers responded and shot dead the suspect. He said the suspect was a local resident but declined to identify him, citing the ongoing investigation.

Police are also trying to locate a female companion, who they named as Marilou Danley, who was traveling with the suspect.

“We are comfortable that the primary aggressor in this event has expired, or passed away, and is no longer a threat,” Sheriff Lombardo said. “We are pretty confident there is no longer a threat.”

In a statement, the Mandalay Bay said that “law enforcement requested that we put hotels in the vicinity on lockdown to ensure guest safety.”

University Medical Center of Southern Nevada spokeswomna Danita Cohen said that her hospital had received approximately 50 patients from the scene, two of whom had died, and “several” were in critical condition. Local television news reports showed crowds of people in Las Vegas ducking for cover as the sound of rapid gunshots rang out, while dozens of patrol vehicles descended on the Strip.

The Mandalay Bay is at the far southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, the four-mile-long bustling tourist corridor lined with casinos, restaurants and other attractions. The resort and surrounding area is adjacent to McCarran International Airport. The airport temporarily suspended all flights because of the incident before partially reopening, it said in posts on its verified Twitter account.

Jose Baggett, 31, a Las Vegas resident, said he and a friend were in the lobby of the Luxor hotel-casino — directly north of the festival — when people began running. He said people were crying and as he and his friend walked away, they encountered police checkpoints where officers were carrying shotguns and assault rifles.

“There were armored personnel vehicles, SWAT vehicles, ambulances, and at least a half-mile of police cars,” Baggett said.

Some officers took cover behind their vehicles while others carrying assault rifles ran into the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. Authorities shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip and Interstate 15.

Witnesses say country singer Jason Aldean was playing near the end of the concert when gunfire rang out. Hours after the shooting, Aldean posted on Instagram that he and his crew were safe and said the shooting was “beyond horrific.”

Several officers from California were attending the music festival. A Bakersfield police officer was shot and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Kodiak Yazzie, 36, said he and his girlfriend were watching Aldean’s performance when he heard what sounded like fireworks. The music stopped temporarily and started up again before another round of pops sent the performers ducking for cover and fleeing the stage. Thousands fled as bursts of gunfire could be heard for more than five minutes, Yazzie said.

via http://ift.tt/2xUjiiW Tyler Durden

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