#3 of 10 Most Popular News Galleries of 2017: Scenes from Las Vegas mass shooting

(Originally posted on October 2, 2017)

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A gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas casino unleashed a hail of bullets on an outdoor country music festival below, killing 58 people and injuring 489 others — as tens of thousands of concertgoers screamed and ran for their lives, officials said Monday. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

SWAT teams using explosives stormed the gunman’s hotel room and found he had killed himself, authorities said. He had as many as 10 guns with him, including rifles, they said.

There was no immediate word on the motive for the bloodbath.

Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said authorities believe it was a “lone wolf” attack. And the U.S. Homeland Security Department said there was no “specific credible threat” involving other public venues in the U.S.

Country music star Jason Aldean was performing Sunday night at the end of the three-day Route 91 Harvest Festival in front of a crowd of more than 22,000 when the gunman opened fire from inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street.

The gunman was identified as Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada. He had checked into the hotel room on Thursday, authorities said. (AP)

Read more from Yahoo News:

– A surreal scene as Las Vegas returns to business after Sunday massacre
– Portrait of a mass killer: The details don’t add up
– Las Vegas, a ‘soft target,’ long feared an attack
– Now I Get It: Why haven’t authorities named Las Vegas gunman a terrorist?
– Photos: The front page: How newspapers portrayed the Vegas massacre
– Photos: Makeshift memorials pay tribute to Las Vegas shooting victims

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