50 dead, 400+ wounded in shooting on Las Vegas strip

At least 50 people are dead and 400 injured after a gunman opened fire at a country music festival in Las Vegas a little before midnight Sunday in what is now the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

The shooting happened during the final day of the three-day Route 91 country music festival, which has taken place for thee past four years on a 15-acre lot on Las Vegas Boulevard across from Mandalay Bay.  Initially, concert goers told the Las Vegas Review Journal they thought it was fireworks during Jason Aldean’s set, but then quickly realized what was happening.

“It was a horror show,” she said standing in Town Square shopping center south of the Strip. “People were standing around, then they hit the floor.”

Matt and Robyn Webb from Orange County were watching the final performance of the night at Route 91 when the shooting started and people began to run for the exits. They said they sheltered underneath their seats as burst after burst of gunfire rained down from the direction of Mandalay Bay.

“It just kept coming,” Robyn Webb said. “It was relentless.”

In a press conference, Joseph Lombardo, the sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said the death toll was “in excess of 50,” with more than 200 people were injured.

The gunman, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, was fired from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, which was overlooking the concert venue, according to CNN.  SWAT teams responded to Paddock’s room and he was killed during a confrontation.

Aldean, who was rushed offstage during the shooting, called the event “beyond horrific” in an Instagram post:

Update #1: Donald Trump has tweeted his “warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims”

Update #2: Former KMIR and KESQ anchor Dan Ball, who was attending the event, told the LA Times a nearby bar was put on lockdown during the shooting.

Former broadcast journalist Dan Ball, 42, of Palm Desert, had been backstage as a friend of the country duo Big & Rich when they performed, then went to John Rich’s bar “Redneck Riviera” nearby as Aldean took the stage.

“The tour manager came over to us and said shots were fired and people were down. We were locked down in the bar and hunkered down,” Ball said.

When he had been backstage during the performance, he said, he had marveled as he looked at the crowd and thought, “Isn’t it great to look out there? We saw white, black, straight, gay, males, females, everyone out there having a good time. Moments later, these cowards commit a heinous act like this. It’s unbelievable. Unbelievable.”

Update #3: The  Las Vegas Police Department confirms that one of the victims was an off-duty officer.

Update #4: Police believe that the shooter took his own life.

Update #5: A phone number has been set up for anyone looking to locate a missing loved one.

This is a breaking news story, check back for updates.