At least 20 dead in Las Vegas Strip shooting; 100 wounded
LAS VEGAS – At least 20 people were killed and 100 wounded during a shooting at an outdoor music festival on the Las Vegas Strip late Sunday, the Las Vegas sheriff says.
Dozens of patrol vehicles descended on the Strip after authorities received reports of an active shooter near the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Las Vegas police later said one suspect was “down” and they did not believe there were any other shooters. The sheriff later reported that officers killed the gunman on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across from outdoor concert.
Concert-goers reported seeing muzzle flashes from the upper floors of the Mandalay Bay across Las Vegas Boulevard from the country music festival and the sound of what they described as automatic gun fire.
Twenty-six people were admitted to the hospital, University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said. Of those, at least two died, 12 were in critical condition and the rest were being evaluated, she said.
Among the wounded was an off-duty officer from the Bakersfield Police Department in California, the department said. Authorities did not release the name of the officer, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries. A Nevada sheriff said off-duty officers attending the festival died.
Kodiak Yazzie, 36, said he and his girlfriend were watching Jason 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.
Videos on Twitter play the sound of rapid gunfire during the country music festival outside Mandalay Bay, where Aldean was on stage performing. He played the Spokane Arena less a week ago.
The gunfire went on about 10 seconds before the music stopped. The crowd appeared slow to move at first.
“Get down, stay down,” a woman shouted moments later. “Let’s go,” another voice said. Another wave of gunshots followed soon after.
Jake Owen, who played the main stage before Aldean, tweeted: “Praying for everyone here in Vegas. I witnessed the most unimaginable event tonight. We are okay. Others arent. Please pray.”
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.
Witnesses said they saw multiple victims and dozens of ambulances near the concert venue. Some attendees later huddled in the basement of the nearby Tropicana hotel-casino.
Officers carrying assault rifles ran into the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Authorities shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip and Interstate 15. Flights were temporarily halted at McCarran International Airport because of the shooting, the airport said on its verified Twitter account.
No further information was immediately known.