The final night of the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas turned out to be one of tragedy when a gunman carried out a lone-wolf attack on unsuspecting revelers. The indiscriminate firing from a height left at least 59 dead with more than 500 injured. Some of them suffered serious injuries, and the death toll could rise.
The gunman, in his sixties, is believed to have shot himself before the SWAT team arrived. The gunman is a local and has been identified. He had taken a room on the 32nd floor of the hotel and had guns and ammunition with him to carry out the shooting of innocents who had come to the concert.
Deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history
ABC News reports that it was an occasion to enjoy country music in Las Vegas. The venue was full with more than 22,000 attendees, and instead of spreading happiness and cheers at the concert, the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival came to a tragic end. Bullets fired from a height rained down on the gathering and killed at least 59 with more than 500 injured.
It was nonstop gunfire and tourists hid in their hotel rooms while flights heading towards the McCarran International Airport were diverted elsewhere.
The suspect unleashed bullets from a hotel room on the 32nd floor and was found dead by the police when they arrived in the room. He did not have any criminal history and worked as an accountant or auditor.
He was also a licensed hunter, and private pilot and investigators are trying to delve into his past to find out what prompted him to take such a step. The incident has been labeled as a lone-wolf attack, and there is no evidence unearthed as yet to link it with any international terror outfit.
Shooting incidents in concert venues
The Las Vegas shooting in the Music Festival was not the first instance when an occasion of joy turned into one of sorrow and grief with dead bodies and blood strewn all over.
Last year, the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester was the target. It was also a large gathering of more than 20,000 people, and a suicide bomber detonated the bomb to kill more than 20 revelers.
Another at least 59 concert-goers were injured, and many of the victims were children. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant had claimed responsibility for the attack.
Such attacks intend to create a sense of fear among the people, and the attackers usually select locations where the number of casualties would be high. The security mechanism at large gatherings of this nature must be tightened and made as foolproof as possible to ensure that the venue is safe. Those who come to enjoy should not leave on stretchers.
