As the death toll in Las Vegas climbed Sunday and Monday, it quickly became clear the massacre was the worst mass shooting in the modern history of the United States.
As of Monday afternoon, officials said 58 people were killed and more than 500 injured after the gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, opened fire from a hotel room on an outdoor music festival taking place on the Las Vegas strip.
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Dramatic cell phone footage shows moment of Las Vegas shooting, chaos -
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Crowds panic, duck for cover as gunshots ring out at Las Vegas country music concert -
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Las Vegas shooting: Victims carried away in wheelbarrows, on security barricades -
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Cellphone videos captures panic as shots ring out at deadly Las Vegas music festival shooting -
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Las Vegas shooting: Video captures moment gunfire interrupts outdoor concert -
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Woman who drove Las Vegas shooting victims to hospital reveals friend’s daughter injured -
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Las Vegas shooting: Video shows confusion, panic as concertgoers try to flee hail of bullets -
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Witness describes treating his friend’s gunshot wounds following Vegas shooting -
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Concertgoer video captures multiple round of gunfire from VIP tent
Until last night, the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history was the June 2016 attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
Here’s a look at some of the deadliest mass shootings on U.S. soil, followed by a short list of some of the more recent mass shootings.
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For clarity, this list falls in line with the FBI’s definition of a “mass shooting,” which includes any shooting in which the perpetrator kills four or more people — not including post-rampage suicide.
The definition also focuses on rampages that take place in one location; if a killer changes location or spreads the attack over days, this is usually referred to as a “spree” or “serial killing.”
Of further note, the events in the list below could be considered the deadliest mass public shootings, which is to say they do not include instances in which another crime resulted in death, such as a robbery or domestic violence, for example.
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49 killed
In June 2016, gunman Omar Mateen opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., killing 49 people and injuring more than 50. He was later killed in a shootout with police.
32 killed
In April 2007, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University became the scene of a grisly mass murder when student Seung-Hui Cho shot 32 people dead before turning a gun to his temple, killing himself.
27 killed
Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza shot down 20 children aged six and seven, as well as six adults before killing himself when he stormed Sandy Hook elementary school in December 2012. Investigators said his mother, Nancy Lanza, was later found dead from a gunshot wound.
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23 killed
On Oct. 16, 1991, in Killeen, Texas, 25-year-old George Hennard crashed his vehicle through the exterior wall of a restaurant before exiting the pickup truck and shooting 23 people dead, then himself.
18 killed
Eighteen people were killed at a California McDonald’s in July 1984 after 41-year-old James Huberty opened fire with an Uzi, handgun and pump-action shotgun. His rampage left 21 children and adults dead. Police killed Huberty shortly after he opened fire.
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18 killed
A former U.S. Marine killed 16 and wounded at least 30 in August 1966 while shooting from a tower at the University of Texas in Austin. Charles Whitman was also found to have killed his wife and mother earlier that day. Two police officers killed Whitman while he was in the tower.
14 killed
Married couple Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik killed opened fire at a 2015 county training event and Christmas party in San Bernardino, Calif. They killed 14 people and injured more than 20 before fleeing the scene and eventually being killed in a police shootout.
14 killed
A part-time mail carrier in Edmond, Okla. was armed with three handguns and killed 14 people in August 1986 before shooting himself in the head.
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Using a cutoff of 14 deaths (not including the perpetrator) for the list above, resulted in a list spanning 51 years, from August 1966 to October 2017 — although one hardly has to look back five decades to find lists of deadly mass shootings in the U.S.
In just the past five years, several high-profile mass shootings, beyond the three that made the list of deadliest attacks above, have made headlines.
9 killed
Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white man, shot and killed nine black church members in June 2015, during a Bible study group in Charleston, S.C. Police have said the attack was racially motivated. Roof has since been sentenced to death for his crimes.
12 killed
In September 2013, Aaron Alexis shot 12 people to death at the Washington Navy Yard before he was killed in a police shootout.
12 killed
On July 20, 2012, James Holmes killed 12 people and injured another 70 at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colo. He has since been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
— With files from The Associated Press
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