Concertgoers thought they were going to a fun night out, not the bloodiest shooting rampage in US history.
Country fans were gathered for the last night of the sold-out Route 91 Harvest Festival, and just as the final act, Jason Aldean, was beginning his set, the cheering turned to confusion and then to full panic.
From up on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel — roughly three football fields’ distance away — Stephen Paddock, 64, a Nevada resident — opened fire.
The first assumption when the ‘popping’ noise was heard was that there some sort of a technical problem with the sound equipment. When people started falling, the reality of the situation became clear.
Here is eyewitness footage:
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT.
Three distinct bursts can be heard:
Video shows the first moment of the Las Vegas shooting. https://t.co/LU8oRJp27I (Warning: Footage may be disturbing) pic.twitter.com/lRNopyde3E
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) October 2, 2017
People took some time what was going on. And why not? Who would ever expect to face automatic gunfire at a freaking concert?
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/914818340308361216
Here is Instagram star Dan Bilzerian recording live as he runs for cover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP6YTixSId0
Footage from another witness
Here is the suspect revealed:
Photo emerges of Stephen Paddock, 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada, who has been identified as suspected gunman in Las Vegas shooting. pic.twitter.com/IunCAVwygo
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) October 2, 2017
He was a resident of a retirement home, 64 years old.
Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said investigations are still ongoing and police have not yet determined a motive. He was not believed to be connected to any militant group, Lombardo said.
‘We have no idea what his belief system was,’ he added. —DailyMail
The sheriff also said he had been in that room since the 28th of September, and that 10 rifles were found in that room when police entered it.
One witness, Gail Davis gives her account:
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/914828490532368384
And like so many situations where we see such grave evil, we see ordinary people step up to do extraordinary good.
When the news broke, Americans lined up to give blood in Vegas at THREE IN THE MORNING.
LOOK: parking lot of blood donation center on Charleston is full. At 3:48am. #Vegas is strong and compasionate. @BethFisherTV @ktnv pic.twitter.com/ltcQ3P6a9K
— David Schuman (@david_schuman) October 2, 2017
And on the scene, people scrambled to help strangers in any way they could. Barricades and wheelbarrows became makeshift stretchers.
After the Las Vegas shooting, people used metal barricades and wheelbarrows to transport injured away from the scene https://t.co/syyICPtSdQ pic.twitter.com/KgvzhNL0qS
— CNN (@CNN) October 2, 2017
Perhaps the most chilling aspect are the reports of a woman forty-five minutes before the carnage happened saying ‘you are all going to die tonight’ and she was escorted out by security.
https://youtu.be/JSq9T8Nuya0?t=5m27s
It is unclear whether she is the same woman police detained — Marilou Danley — the attacker’s roommate, whose LinkedIn profile indicates she once worked in a casino.
And despite fully-automatic weapons already being heavily restricted since the ’80s, you can anticipate an outcry for ‘more gun control’.
In fact, it has already begun.
Our own, Doug Giles has some things to say about this American tragedy:
https://www.facebook.com/ClashDaily/videos/1480096762107097/
