More than 58 people dead and more than 515 others have been hospitalized with a range of wounds after a lone wolf shooter opened fire on a country music festival at around 10:10 pm Sunday local time in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Authorities say they expect the death toll to climb still higher. There was a five-hour wait at the blood bank in Las Vegas, where long lines of donors formed in response to a call for more blood in the wake of the deadly attack.
According to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, six Israelis are still unaccounted for in the attack, which claimed the lives of two off-duty Las Vegas police officers, and injured two others.
Israel Consul Avner Saban, based in Los Angeles, traveled to Las Vegas to help located missing Israelis who have yet to be tracked down. Saban is working with local police officials to find those who have not yet been in touch with their relatives and who have not responded when their loved ones have tried to call them.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying, “On this terrible day, the people of Israel stand shoulder to shoulder with the American people in mourning and sorrow. Our hearts go out to the victims’ families and we wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. We grieve with you.”
Our hearts go out to the victims' families and we wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. We grieve with you.
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu)
Despite a claim by the Islamic State terrorist organization claiming the shooter was “a soldier” of the group, a spokesperson for the FBI said shooter Stephen Paddock had “no connection with any international terrorist group.” Likewise, Paddock’s brother discounted a claim by Islamic State that the shooter “converted to Islam several months ago,” saying that his brother was “just a guy. Something happened, he snapped or something.”
President Donald Trump called the attack “pure evil.” U.S. media labeled it “the worse mass shooting in American history.”
The gunman who shot into the crowd at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip where a country music festival is being held was tracked down within 15 minutes.
Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, was firing from the 32nd floor of the hotel, where he had a clear view of the 22,000 people swaying to the last song being performed by country music star Jason Aldean on the final night of the three-day Route 91 Harvest Festival.
A video of the start of the attack:
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Tweeted: “We’re investigating reports of an active shooter near/around Mandalay Bay Casino. Asking everyone to please avoid the area.”
Absolutely horrifying footage of an active shooter in Las Vegas.
Stay safe everyone!pic.twitter.com/6pjEy4nMEa
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg)
Shooting in Las Vegas. People fleeing (video from the Mandalay Bay hotel) pic.twitter.com/hs98J5uK6T
— Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH)
Las Vegas shooting witness: "Lots of people got hit … One guy ended up dying in my arms" https://t.co/hNllVBHMaA pic.twitter.com/0eSLZLMWQK
— ABC News (@ABC)
It is still not clear whether other parties were involved in organizing the attack, but in May of this year, ISIS released a video indicating Vegas would be targeted.
Police said a veritable arsenal of 19 firearms, including two on tripods at the windows, with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, was discovered in the room from which Paddock fired at the crowd.
Police were able to track down the source of the gunfire because “he was firing so many rounds of ammunition so fast, the smoke detector went off in his hotel room,” according to Fox News.
However, by the time police reached his room, “the individual killed himself prior to our entry,” said Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo.
A little over a year ago, the Anti-Defamation League brought a delegation of West Coast law enforcement executives to a Counter-Terrorism Training Seminar in Israel. There they met with commanders, top security experts and intelligence analysts in the Israel Police and IDF to learn about effective methods of terror attack response and prevention.
Among the delegation was a team of top officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as well as law enforcement officials from California and Arizona.
Las Vegas police said Paddock had the firearms prepared in the room with two platforms set up in front of separate windows from which to shoot, with cameras set up to see when police were arriving, Fox reported. The shooter had checked into the room on September 28.