Barely 24 hours after a heavily gunman opened fire on an
open-air concert in a Las Vegas
hotel, estimated 58 people have been confirmed killed, reports ITRealms.
The killings, ITRealms gathered were majorly from the shooting
and stamped arising thereof, while over 500 people were suspectedly injured in
the attack which has attracted global condemnation.
ITRealms also gathered that the gunman had opened fire from
a 32-floor hotel room adjacent to the open-air concert venue and has been
tagged the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
ChannelsTV and CNN
monitored in Lagos, reported that the Islamic State group claimed the
64-year-old Nevada man behind the Sunday night massacre, Stephen Craig Paddock,
was one of its “soldiers” but the FBI said it had found no such connection so
far.
Police said Paddock, a retired accountant, killed himself
before a SWAT team breached his room in the Mandalay Bay hotel overlooking the
venue for the country music concert.
President Donald Trump denounced what he called “an act of
pure evil” and said he would visit Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters at least
eight rifles had been recovered from the gunman’s hotel room.
Paddock was believed to be a “lone wolf” assailant who acted
alone, Lombardo said, declining to speculate as to what may have motivated the
attack.
“I can’t get into the mind of a psychopath at this point,”
he said.
Lombardo said Paddock had apparently used a hammer to smash
the window of his hotel room before opening fire on the crowd below.
Police said around 22,000 people were attending the concert
when bursts of automatic gunfire erupted shortly after 10:00 pm (0500 GMT).
Concert-goers screamed and fled in panic as a steady stream
of bullets rained down from the hotel.
58 dead, 515 injured
Lombardo said 58 people had been confirmed dead and 515
injured and he said the toll could rise. The authorities issued an appeal for
blood donors.
The Islamic State said one of its “soldiers” who had
“converted to Islam several months ago” was behind the shooting but provided no
evidence to back up the claim.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it has found no
such link so far.
“As this event unfolds we have determined to this point no
connection with an international terrorist group,” said Aaron Rouse, special
agent in charge of the Las Vegas office of the FBI.
Paddock, who photographs showed as greying with a trimmed
beard and moustache, was a former accountant and a licensed private pilot with
no criminal record, according to ABC News.
Eric Paddock, the gunman’s brother, said he was at a
complete loss to understand what may have motivated the shooting.
“This is an asteroid falling out of the sky,” Eric Paddock
told CBS News.
He said his brother had “no religious affiliation, no
political affiliation.”
“He was my brother. He was a guy. He gambled,” Eric Paddock
said.
He said his brother had no history of mental illness and was
“not an avid gun guy at all.”
Paddock resided in a new golf course development in the
desert just outside Mesquite, Nevada, 80 miles northeast (130 kilometers) of
Las Vegas.
Chuks Egbune/GEE
ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!
Pix: Courtesy: MarketWatch.com
The all-female showcase of musical and creative talents will take place on Sunday, December 17th, 2023, at the prestigious Eko Convention Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.
