Gunman staying at Mandalay Bay hotel shoot at people attending a music fest

  LAS VEGAS – In what is considered the deadliest mass shooting in US modern history, a lone gunman fired shots from his room at the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino on an outdoor country music festival across the street, killing 59 people and wounding 527 others. According to witnesses, the shooting lasted at least 15 minutes. Authorities identified the shooter as Stephen Paddock, 64, who is an accountant, and a resident of Mesquite, Nevada. Paddock, who was not known to authorities, is dead. He killed himself before members of the Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team broke down the door of Paddock's room, according to Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo. US President Donald Trump and world leaders like British Prime Minister Theresa May and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbill condemned the massacre. Trump said the massacre was "an act of evil". Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his condolences to the US and to the massacre victims. In honor of the victims, the US Embassy in Tel Aviv was bathed in the US flag colors while the Eiffel Tower in Paris went dark. Members of the US House of Representatives observed a minute of silence for the victims. Country artist Jason Aldean was performing before a crowd of more than 20,000 people at the end of the three-day Route 91 Harvest Festival when the shooting started. The concert-goers thought at first that the shots were firecrackers going off not until people who were hit fell on the ground and bullets zipped by. It was then that people panicked and started taking cover under bleachers or dropped on the ground to avoid getting hit. Lombardo told journalists that as police officers approached Paddock's hotel room, the gunman opened fire, shooting a policeman in the leg. Police said Paddock was still alive when officers first made contact with him but was already dead when a SWAT team broke down the hotel room's door and found him inside. "We believe the individual killed himself prior to our entry," Lombardo said. Police found 10 guns in Paddock's hotel room, including rifles. Some electronic devices were also recovered. Lombardo said probers are focused on four main crime scenes – Paddock's Mandalay Bay room, the concert event location, Paddock's house in Mesquite, and a home in northern Nevada. He said police have recovered "in excess of" 18 additional firearms, explosives and several thousand rounds of ammo at Paddock's home. The motive behind the shooting is still being determined by authorities. Reports quoted a law enforcement source as saying there was no immediate indication that the shooting was connected to international terrorism. The Islamic State (IS) group however claimed responsibility for the attack and said the gunman was "a soldier" who had converted to Islam months ago, but did not provide proof to back up their claim. The Islamic State is known to claim responsibility whenever deadly attacks occur but has failed to prove it. Paddock's brother, Eric, who lives in Florida, told the Orlando Sentinel: "We are completely dumbfounded. We can't understand what happened." Paddock's neighbors in Melbourne, Florida, where Paddock owned a property from 2013 to 2015 described Stephen as a "typical good neighbor" and a "gentle giant". Don and Sharon Judy, who lived next door to Stephen's property in Florida, told CNN that Stephen purchased the house for "speculation" purposes and visited it about six times over the years. Don recalled that Paddock gave him a key and asked him and Sharon to keep an eye on the place. Stephen would call occasionally to ask how the place was doing and did not give any impression that he collected guns or had a violent streak. "He was very simplistic. If I could say impression - it was gentle giant, he just never showed any kind of aggression or anything," Don told CNN. Meanwhile, President Trump said: "In moments of tragedy and horror, America comes together as one. And it always has." He ordered flags flown at half-mast. The mayor of Las Vegas pleaded for blood donations for the victims. Reports said some people waited six to eight hours to donate blood at some clinics in the area. "We have been deluged with donations," said Steve Sisolak, chairman of the Clark County Nevada Commission, referring to blankets, sandwiches, water and other items. "It's almost to the point we can't handle any more donations at the convention center." 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