At least 59 people were killed and more than 500 injured in a mass shooting at a country music concert here. The lone attacker was later killed by the police.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that the perpetrator was “a soldier” who had converted to Islam months ago, without providing any evidence to support the claim.
The terror group released two statements on its Aamaq news agency on Monday, hours after the shooting at a country music concert that killed at least 50 people and wounded at least 500.
It did not name the suspected shooter, identified by Las Vegas police as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, but said he had “executed the operation in response to calls to target countries of the coalition” batting the extremist group in Iraq and Syria.
However, senior police officials said that there is no evidence that the shooter was tied to any international terrorist group.
Police said Stephen Paddock was a retiree with no criminal history in the Nevada county where he lived. Mesquite Police Chief Troy Tanner sayid Stephen Paddock owned a single-family home in Sun City Mesquite, a retirement community along the Nevada-Arizona border. He lived there with Marilou Danley, 62. Police say they don’t believe she was involved. Heavily armed police searched the home early Monday.
Following the shooting, President Donald Trump extended condolences to those killed in the attack and their families.
Trump called the shooting "an act of pure evil", adding that "in moments of tragedy, America comes together as one as it always has".
He also said that he will visit Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet with first responders and their families.
Earlier, the police said they believe the gunman, 64-year-old local resident Stephen Paddock, who opened fire on concertgoers on the Las Vegas strip killed himself before officers broke into his hotel room.
"We believe the individual killed himself prior to our entry," Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told a news conference.
He said officers found "in excess of 10 rifles" upon entering the 32nd floor hotel room from which Paddock opened fire
Concert-goers screamed and fled in panic as a steady stream of automatic gunfire rang out at the venue shortly after 10 pm local time, footage captured on smartphones showed.
Lombardo told reporters that initial estimates had put the number of dead "at in excess of 50 individuals" while more than 200 had been injured.
In a later statement, police put the number of dead at 50 and said the number of people taken to hospital at approximately 406, although it was not immediately clear if that figure included anyone who was later pronounced dead.
Police said Paddock, who lived in a town around 130 kilometers of Las Vegas, had opened fire on the crowds below from the upper reaches of the giant hotel located on the famous Las Vegas Strip.
Paddock's female companion, who had earlier been named as a person of interest by police, is believed to have been located, Lombardo added.
Thousands of fans were attending the concert next to the Mandalay Bay as part of a three-day country music festival known as Route 91.
Pope Francis said he was "deeply saddened" by the "senseless tragedy" while Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May called it an "appalling attack."
Witnesses told how Paddock opened fire with an initial long burst, and then appeared to reload as he continued his spree.
"We heard (what) sounded like a glass breaking, so you looked around to see what's going on and then heard a pop, pop, pop," Monique Dekerf told CNN.
"You'd think for a moment okay we're fine, there's no more gunfire, then it starts again."
Her sister Rachel said it sounded like "the shots were coming from the right side ... it sounded like they were right beside us too ... it was right there."
Best-selling country singer Jason Aldean was on stage and near the end of his concert when the shooting began.
Aldean initially carried on playing when the first crackle of gunfire could be heard but then hurried off the stage once he realized that it was a shooting.
Robert Hayes, a firefighter from Los Angeles who was watching the concert near the front of the stage, said he first thought the gunfire was some kind of equipment malfunction.
Once he realized what was going on, he joined the first responders, donning one of their vests. "Honestly I probably pronounced 15-20 people" dead, he told Fox News.
"It was pretty much like a war scene inside."
The emergency crews used anything to hand as makeshift stretchers, including tables and metal railings normally used to control the crowds, said Hayes.
Asked if he thought it was an inexperienced gunman, he responded: "With 30,000 people in the arena area, it was kind of like shooting goldfish ... He didn't have to be good."
Although the final toll has yet to be confirmed, it is already the deadliest shooting in the United States.
The previous deadliest shooting came in June 2016 when 49 people were killed at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It was also the latest in a series of recent deadly attacks at concert venues.
Twenty-two people were killed while leaving an Ariana Grande concert in the northern English city of Manchester in May when a suicide bomber detonated a nail bomb in the foyer.
Ninety people were killed in November 2015 at the Bataclan venue in Paris during a concert by the US band the Eagles of Death Metal.
A shocked Aldean told his fans via Instagram that he and his band was safe.
"Tonight has been beyond horrific," the singer wrote.
"I still don't know what to say ... My Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved tonight. "It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night."
