It was supposed to be a night of fun and music but a gunman opened fire and targeted hundreds of people watching the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in Las Vegas on Sunday. Authorities identified the perpetrator as Stephen Craig Paddock, a 64-year-old retired accountant, who was gunned down in his hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
Mass shooting at Las Vegas concert
Further reports by Fox News and the BBC, stated that the authorities discovered several rifles and explosives in the suspect's hotel room and at his house in Nevada.
The mass shooting has left at least 59 dead and has injured more than 500 individuals who were in the open and watching the music festival.
Among those who did not survive the Las Vegas shooting was an off-duty officer who sustained serious gunshot wounds. Another off-duty officer was also injured in the incident. Meanwhile, a concertgoer, named Kristina Ambartsumian, recalled what took place after the attacker fired at the concertgoers in the venue.
The survivor told ET Online that she and her friends thought they heard "fireworks" when the perpetrator started firing at them. They, however, realized it was a shooting incident when the performing artist, Jason Aldean, dropped his mic and raced off the stage upon hearing the gunfire.
Kristina Ambartsumian later saw a girl covered in blood after being shot by the attacker. "She was in shock and had no idea what was going on. At that point we realized that it was a shooter," she recalled.
Concert turned into a nightmare
The group then ran underneath the stage to save themselves. At that moment, Kristina Ambartsumian and her friends thought it was the end for them after seeing other people getting shot out in the open.
She said the mass shooting went on for about 15 to 20 minutes before it finally stopped.
Several concertgoers, including Kristina Ambartsumian and her colleagues, stepped out to help those who were injured in the mass shooting. She went on and said that everything happened so fast that they only saw the damage and casualties after the mass shooting.
At the time of writing, authorities have yet to find out the motive for the mass shooting. Even the family of Stephen Craig Paddock is still in shock about what he had done at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival.
Celebrities and politicians have also extended their condolences to the victims of the Las Vegas shooting. Some of them also suggested that it is high time to come up with tighter gun control laws following the tragic incident.
