At Least 59 Killed in Mass Shooting at Las Vegas’ Route 91 Festival
Update (6PM CT): As of Monday evening, 59 people were reported dead and 527 injured as a result of the Las Vegas shooting.
Update (10:30AM CT): Death toll has reached 58 people, 515 injured. CNN reports that shooter's guns were obtained legally.
Update (8AM CT): Authorities now reporting more than 400 injured. Gunman killed himself before Las Vegas Police entered hotel room.
Update (7AM CT): Suspect has been identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock. The death toll has risen to more than 50 people.
This is a developing story.
At least fifty-nine people are dead and 527 others injured after shots rung out during Jason Aldean's headlining performance at the 2017 Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas early Monday morning (Oct. 2).
CNN reports that there was a single shooter, who is dead. The gunman — 64-year-old Stephen Paddock — was positioned in the 32nd floor of a hotel room at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, shooting a high-powered weapon from above the crowd. The Route 91 Festival was taking place outside of the hotel at Las Vegas Village outdoor arena this weekend. Off-duty police officers are reportedly among the dead.
Witnesses reported hearing hundreds of shots — concertgoers initially believed they were hearing fireworks because the gunfire was happening so quickly.
"The band was rushed off the stage, the floodlights came on the crowd, and you see on the right hand of the stage the person who was injured, so they're calling for medics, calling for security, then there was gunfire again," reports Monique Dumas, a Route 91 Festival attendee. "It seemed there was a pause in the gunfire and the people in the yellow shirts were telling the people to 'go, go, go, go' ... the gunfire never ended, it seemed like it went on and on and on."
“We heard what sounded like firecrackers going off,” another attendee, Meghan Kearney, tells MSNBC. “Then all of a sudden we heard what sounded like a machine gun. People started screaming that they were hit … When we started running out there were probably a couple hundred [people] on the ground."
Aldean was onstage when the shooting occurred, but was unharmed. “Tonight has been beyond horrific. I still don’t know what to say but wanted to let everyone know that me and my crew are safe," he writes on social media. "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."
Checking In With All Route 91 Harvest Fest Sunday Performers
This is a developing story — police urge anyone with video footage or photos from the event to get in contact with them.
Sunday night's Route 91 Festival lineup also included Jake Owen, Big & Rich and Kane Brown, among others. Owen tweeted as the massacre was unfolding, praying for fans and writing a message to his daughter:
The mayor of Las Vegas also requested prayers in the early morning hours on Monday:
Sadly, This Tragedy Isn't Without Precedent