Mass shooting in Las Vegas: How it happened

By Washington Post Staff

Updated Oct. 11 8:52 a.m.

Caesars

Palace

New York

Hooter’s

Hotel

DETAIL BELOW

Concert

venue

Mandalay

Bay

Mandalay

Bay

Caesars

Palace

Concert

venue

DETAIL BELOW

Hooters

Hotel

Mandalay

Bay

Aria Resort

Caesars

Palace

New York,

New York

The Mirage

Concert

venue

Flamingo

Las Vegas

DETAIL BELOW

The Venetian

Hooters

Hotel

9:40 p.m. Pacific time
Jason Aldean, a country music singer, began his performance at the Route 91 Harvest, an annual Las Vegas music festival. There were more than 22,000 people in attendance.

Around 10:02 p.m.
The shooter shot a security guard in the hallway on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort.

10:08 p.m.
The shooter began to fire shots into a concert venue across the street. He was positioned in a large suite that contained two rooms, according to Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo. He is believed to have fired from both rooms to get different angles.

Here’s the audio from the police scanner when the shots were first reported.

Warning: These audio clips contain content that may be disturbing to some readers.

“Shots fired” 0:12

A gunman opened fire from the 32nd

floor of the hotel into a concert below

Mandalay Bay

The venue is about

1,000 feet from

the hotel

Main stage

Las Vegas Village

concert venue

(Photo: Paul Buck/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

A gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the hotel into a concert across the street.

Mandalay Bay

Resort and Casino

The venue is about

1,000 feet from

the hotel

Luxor Hotel

and Casino

Main stage—

—Bathrooms

Las Vegas Village

concert venue

—Exit gate

Curtains blow out of broken windows on a high floor in the Mandalay Bay hotel facing the scene of the mass shooting.

(Paul Buck/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Mandalay Bay

Resort and Casino

A gunman opened fire from the 32nd

floor of the hotel into a concert below

The venue is about

1,000 feet from

the hotel

Luxor Hotel

and Casino

Main stage

—Bathrooms

Las Vegas Village

concert venue

—Exit gate

Curtains blow out of broken windows on a high floor in the Mandalay Bay hotel facing the scene of the mass shooting.

(Paul Buck/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The police quickly identified that the shots were coming from Mandalay Bay, but briefly believed there were other shooters at other locations as well.

“I see the shots coming” 0:11

Eyewitnesses described people running for exits or hiding behind trucks, trampling each other in the process. Some reported seeing concertgoers take shelter at nearby hotels and restaurants.

“There’s gonna be more victims” 0:25

View form concert venue

Windows where shots came from on the 32nd floor

Main

stage

Las Vegas Village

concert floor

Google Street View, Sept. 2016

View from concert venue

Window where shots came from on the 32nd floor

Main

stage

Las Vegas Village

concert floor

Google Street View, Sept. 2016

Around 10:20 p.m.
The shooting reportedly stopped after about ten to fifteen minutes, though estimates vary.

“It’s been a while since we heard any shots” 0:12

10:24 p.m.
The police locate the shooter’s room on the 32nd floor of the hotel. They begin preparing to enter the room. At 10:27, the gunman shoots into the hall, and a bullet ricochets into a security guard’s leg. A camera hidden in a room-service cart gave the shooter a view of the hall outside his room.

“It’s room 135” 0:24

When police busted into Room 135 on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, they found Stephen Paddock’s body, 23 guns and evidence of the carefully planned attack.

A detailed look at the

shooter's suite

on the 32nd floor

Double-

door entry

Broken

window

Living room

Broken

window

A detailed look at the shooter's suite on the 32nd floor

Double-

door entry

Broken

window

Living room

Broken

window

A detailed look at the

shooter's suite on the 32nd floor

Double-

door entry

Broken

window

Living room

Broken

window

11:25 p.m.
A SWAT team stormed the room, using explosives to enter. They saw the shooter had killed himself, according to Sheriff Joseph Lombardo. There were 23 firearms found in the room.

“Breach breach breach” 0:30

View from hotel

McCarran Int'l

Airport

Hooters

Casino

Hotel

Las Vegas Village

concert floor

Google Earth schematic view

View from hotel

McCarran Int'l

Airport

Hooters

Casino

Hotel

Las Vegas Village

concert floor

Google Earth schematic view

Around 3:30 a.m.
The police identified the shooter as Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old white male from Mesquite, Nev., which is near Las Vegas. Lombardo said Paddock’s run-ins with Las Vegas police consisted only of one citation several years ago. The police called him a “lone wolf” but also identified his roommate Marilou Danley as a “person of interest.” They do not think she was involved in the shooting.

The police have not yet determined his motive and have not yet decided whether the shooting constitutes an act of terrorism. However, they believe he had no ties to international terrorist groups such as the Islamic State.

This was the deadliest mass shooting in America since 1966. Paddock was older than most who have carried out 130 similar attacks in the United States since 1966. The vast majority were ages 20 to 49.

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