LATEST UPDATES:
-Gunman had access to at least 42 weapons, ammunition, ammonium nitrate
-At least 59 people dead, more than 527 injured
-State of Emergency declared for Clark County, all state agencies to assist
– FBI says shooter had no connection with terror group
-At least 2 Canadians killed, 2 injured
-Shooter identified as Stephen Paddock; died at scene
-Trump calls shooting ‘act of pure evil’
At least 59 people are dead, including two Canadians, and more than 500 were injured, after a lone gunman opened fire from a 32nd-floor hotel room, raining bullets down on an outdoor music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Sunday night.
Las Vegas police responded to a call of an active shooter near the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino just after 10 p.m. local time. Country music star Jason Aldean was performing at the end of the three-day Route 91 Harvest Festival when the gunman opened fire across the street from inside the hotel.
WARNING: Some viewers may find these videos disturbing.
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Witnesses react to deadly Las Vegas music festival shooting -
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Las Vegas shooting: What we know so far -
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Las Vegas police release audio as tactical team breach concert shooter’s room -
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Concertgoer video captures multiple round of gunfire from VIP tent -
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Las Vegas shooting: Video shows confusion, panic as concertgoers try to flee hail of bullets -
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Crowds panic, duck for cover as gunshots ring out at Las Vegas country music concert -
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Witness describes treating his friend’s gunshot wounds following Vegas shooting -
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Las Vegas shooting: Video captures moment gunfire interrupts outdoor concert -
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SWAT teams respond to Mandalay Hotel where gunman opened fire on concertgoers
Aldean was in the middle of a song when the shots came rapidly. Video of the shooting shows Aldean stopping and the crowd getting quiet as if they were unsure of what had just happened. The gunman paused and then fired another volley of bullets from the casino as more victims fell to the ground while others fled in panic.
Police said Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, opened fire on some 22,000 people before police stormed the hotel room perched above the strip and found the suspect dead.
“We believe the individual killed himself prior to our entry,” Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said early Monday morning.
“There was a team of six officers that approached security” of the Mandelay Bay Hotel, Lombardo said in an evening press conference.
READ MORE: Calgary-area mother missing following Las Vegas shooting
The team searched the hotel floor by floor, until they located the suspected room. When the approached the room, they “received gunfire,” so they backed off until a SWAT team was able to respond.
Lombardo also confirmed that one security guard was shot in the leg during the ordeal, but didn’t specify when or where.
In a press conference Monday evening, Assistant Sheriff Todd Fasulo said there were 23 firearms found in Paddock’s hotel room at Mandalay Bay.
He also had two devices that are attached to the stocks of semi-automatic guns to allow fully automatic gunfire. The bump-stock devices have attracted scrutiny in recent years from authorities, the Associated Press reports.
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At Paddock’s home, authorities found 19 more guns, explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Also, several pounds of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that has been used to make explosives such as those used in the 1995 Oklahoma bombing, were in his car, the sheriff said.
At a press conference Monday night police said a SWAT team was ready to enter another house in Reno, Nevada.
During a Monday press conference, the FBI said Paddock had no connection to an international terrorist group.
WATCH: Dramatic cell phone footage shows moment of Las Vegas shooting, chaos
Nevada’s governor has signed a declaration of emergency for Clark County that directs all state agencies to assist local officials who have responded to the Las Vegas mass shooting.
Gov. Brian Sandoval’s spokeswoman Mari St. Martin says the governor also signed a public health disaster declaration Monday that temporarily allows doctors and nurses licensed from other U.S. states to practice in Nevada and help with the emergency response.
Steve Sisolak, a Las Vegas county official, has set up a GoFundMe page for the victims.
“They went in when everyone else was running out. But for the fact that their selfless actions we would have hundreds more casualties than we are currently facing,” Sisolak said.
The store where Paddock allegedly purchased the guns was Guns and Guitars Inc. in Mequite, CNN reports. In a statement sent to them, officials offered their condolances for the victims and said they were cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation.
“Mr. Paddock was a customer and purchased firearms from our store; however, all necessary background checks and procedures were followed,” the statement to CNN reads. “He never gave any indication or reason to believe he was unstable or unfit at any time.”
The announcement from Special Agent in Charge Aaron Rouse at a news conference Monday comes after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack without providing evidence.
Global News confirmed at least two Canadians were killed and two others were injured in Sunday’s shooting.
WATCH: B.C. resident ducks for cover as Las Vegas shooter opens fire
Global Affairs minister Chrystia Freeland said in Question Period the government is working with U.S. officials to identify any Canadians hurt in the attack.
“If anybody listening is aware of friends and family who may be caught up in or injured during this attack, please do get in touch with Global Affairs immediately,” she said.
WATCH: B.C. man identified as a victim of Las Vegas shooting
Jordan McIldoon, 23, a construction worker from Maple Ridge, B.C. was identified as one of the victims early Monday morning.
Jessica Klymchuk, an educational assistant, librarian and bus driver from Alberta., was identified Monday afternoon.
A Calgary resident, originally from Ottawa, was among those injured in the attack. A colleague of Steve Arruda said the hockey referee was there with his wife Elaine when he was hit with a bullet in his upper leg.
“They went to the show, all hell breaks loose, then they scramble to get to a retaining wall,” Hockey North America Calgary’s James Kelly told Global News. “He helps his wife over the fence; he was helping others get over fence. He got hit by a bullet.”
Kelly said he’d been texting with Arruda Monday while he was in the intensive care unit (ICU). He said Arruda didn’t expect to be in hospital long.
WATCH: Terrorism or not? Defining the Las Vegas massacre
Jody Ansell, of Stonewall, Man., and Jan Lambourne, of Teulon, Man., were both shot while attending the concert.
“All of a sudden, it sounded like a machine gun,” Ansell told Global News from her hospital room in Las Vegas Monday morning.
“My girlfriend dropped, she was shot in the stomach, and then I was shot in the arm. I was bleeding all over.”
Ansell’s MP James Bezan addressed the House of Commons, saying everyone was pulling for those affected by the shooting, including the two from Manitoba.
“Many more families are facing injuries to loved ones, such senseless violence leave the entire world in disbelief. Two of my constituents were in Las Vegas at the concert when the attack began,” he said during Question Period.
“Both are being treated for their wounds, and we’re all pulling for you.”
Las Vegas shooting: Here’s What we know so far
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Las Vegas shooter’s retirement community evacuated as police search home -
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Sibling of Las Vegas shooter says his brother owned handguns -
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Las Vegas shooter’s brother reads final text from gunman, pleads for mother to be left alone -
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FBI: No connection between Las Vegas shooter and any ‘terrorist group’ -
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Las Vegas shooter shot at concertgoers from less than 300 metres away -
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Las Vegas police provide initial details on concert shooter
Ansell said Lambourne is in stable condition following surgery.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley confirmed the death of a second Canadian.
“Our hearts go out to the loved ones of the Albertan who was killed in the Las Vegas attack. We are so sorry for your loss,” Notley tweeted.
A witness said many of the concertgoers thought the sound of gunshots were fireworks at first.
“Then people just started dropping around us,” she said. “Everybody tried to stay down and every time a group would get up to try to run away, they would just start shooting again and it just kept going on and on.”
Another witness said he heard about “200 to 300 rounds” coming from the hotel.
“I was sitting out here on the sidewalk and all of a sudden, I thought fireworks, and then I saw a window come out and glass shatter everywhere and two or three more windows came out,” the man told NBC News. “Then an open machine gun fire out that direction…towards the concert area.”
U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the attack as an “act of pure evil.”
“In moments of tragedy and horror, America comes together as one. And it always has,” Trump said in a televised address. “Our unity cannot be shattered by evil, our bonds cannot be broken by violence and though we feel such great anger at the senseless murder of our fellow citizens, it is our love that defines us today, and always will, forever.”
Trump tweeted earlier his “warmest condolences” in the wake of the mass shooting.
“My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!” the president tweeted.
READ MORE: Gunman’s brother ‘completely dumbfounded’ after attack
Police shut down Las Vegas Boulevard and authorities from across state and federal ranks converged onto the scene as dozens of ambulances ferried those struck by gunfire. Nearby Interstate 15 and flights at McCarran International Airport were also halted.
Among those killed were two off-duty police officers who were attending the concert. Two other on-duty officers were wounded, including one who is in critical condition, police said.
Aldean took to Instagram after the attack, calling the shooting “beyond horrific.”
“Tonight has been beyond horrific. I still don’t know what to say but wanted to let everyone know that Me and my Crew are safe,” the singer wrote. “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.”
Las Vegas police released an audio recording Monday morning of the moment tactical officers used explosives to breach Paddock’s hotel room.
“We just hit on the suspect’s door. I need everybody in that hallway to be aware of it and get back. We need to pop this and see if we get any type of response from this guy to see if he’s in here or if he’s actually moved somewhere else,” an officer said.
The dispatcher relayed the message to all responding units to clear the area for an explosive breach.
“Breach, breach, breach,” an officer said moments before the sound of an explosion. “One suspect down in 135, floor 32 Mandalay Bay. I have the floor.”
WATCH: BC couple describes hearing gunshots for ’45 minutes’ as they fled bullets
Police said Paddock had checked into his hotel room on Thursday. Officers had initially been searching for a woman associated with Paddock as a person of interest; she was later located outside of the country in Tokyo. Authorities said Paddock may have been using the woman’s ID in some way.
“She was not with him when he checked in, we have discovered he was utilizing some of her identification. We have had conversation with her and we believe her, at this time, not to be involved,” Lombardo said.
The attack is the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. In June 2016, a gunman who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the “senseless and cowardly act of violence.”
“Our hearts break for our American friends and neighbours today. On behalf of all Canadians, I offer my deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones and friends, and my prayers for a fast and full recovery for the many injured,” Trudeau said in a statement. “We stand with the United States, and share their pain and horror at such a senseless and cowardly act of violence. Las Vegas has long been celebrated by people from around the globe, including many Canadians.
“We grieve with this city and the United States. Such acts only strengthen our resolve to stand together, united,” the prime minister said.
Trudeau earlier tweeted “words fail this morning” in response to the shooting in Las Vegas.
“Words fail this morning. The friendship & support of Canadians is with the victims in Las Vegas & the people of the US,” the prime minister tweeted.
Sunday’s shooting came more than four months after a suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people. Almost 90 people were killed by gunmen inspired by Islamic State at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris during a performance by Eagles of Death Metal in November 2015.
– Global News reporters Rebecca Joseph, Katie Dangerfield and Amy Judd contributed to this report. With files from the Associated Press
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