WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump and the shootings in Las Vegas (all times local):
3:20 p.m.
The Senate has observed a moment of silence to honor victims of Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stand during a moment of silence to remember the victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says “this is a moment of national mourning.”
He says the mass shooting is shocking and tragic and devastating for the families of the victims.
McConnell says, “It’s hard to even imagine their pain.”
The Senate’s tribute followed a moment of silence at the White House, where President Donald Trump paused on the South Lawn as a bell tolled three times.
At least 58 people were killed and hundreds others wounded in the shooting.
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3:03 p.m.
A bell tolled three times as a solemn President Donald Trump paused on the White House South Lawn for a moment of silence in honor of the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas.
Flanked by first lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, Trump walked out onto the lawn for the memorial moment Monday afternoon. The White House’s flag stood at half-staff overhead.
They were honoring the 58 people killed night when a gunman opened fire on a concert crowd in Las Vegas. Police say Stephen Craig Paddock was on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino-hotel tower Sunday night when he fired into Route 91 Harvest festival. More than 500 people were wounded.
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2:25 p.m.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the day after the deadliest mass shooting in the nation’s history is not the time to renew a debate over gun control.
Sanders was asked Monday during the press briefing that there is a “time and place” for a debate but that is “not the place we’re in at this moment.”
She said President Donald Trump was focused on the victims and stressed that it was a “time to unite the country.”
Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama frequently used mass shootings to call for stricter gun control laws. Trump did not mention firearms during his remarks earlier Monday after a gunman in Las Vegas and killed 58 people and injured at least 515 others.
The Republican president has cast himself as a friend to firearms owners and the powerful National Rifle Association lobby.
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2:10 p.m.
Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords raised her fist at the Capitol and said “the nation is counting on you” after the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas.
Giffords, who was grievously wounded in 2011, and her husband Mark Kelly were at the Capitol on Monday. They said the nation’s thoughts and prayers are not enough and Congress must pass legislation to keep deadly weapons out of the wrong hands.
Kelly and Giffords had planned to campaign for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam, but instead they went to the Capitol to comment on the shooting.
Citing President Donald Trump, Kelly said “Americans need more than our president’s prayers. We need his plans.”
Kelly is calling for a commission to work on solutions to gun violence. He says it’s the only acceptable moral course for the country.
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1:05 p.m.
President Donald Trump and the first lady will lead a moment of silence on Monday afternoon on the White House South Lawn to honor the victims of the deadly Las Vegas shooting.
Trump also spoke Monday with British Prime Minister Theresa May about the shooting. The White House says May conveyed her condolences after more than 50 people were killed and hundreds injured at an outdoor country music festival.
The White House says the president thanked May and praised the first responders in Las Vegas who responded to the shooting.
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12:20 p.m.
The CIA is advising caution on “jumping to conclusions” after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Las Vegas shooting.
Agency spokesman Jonathan Liu says U.S. intelligence agencies are aware of the claim of responsibility. But he says people shouldn’t rush to judgment “before the facts are in.”
The CIA is deferring to law enforcement on the status of the investigation.
Without providing any evidence, the Islamic State group on Monday said the gunman in the mass shooting in Las Vegas was “a soldier” from its ranks who had converted to Islam months ago.
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11:45 a.m.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise says he agrees with President Donald Trump that the mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed more than 50 people was “an act of pure evil.”
Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, returned to the Capitol last week after he was shot and critically wounded in June as he and fellow Republicans practiced for a congressional baseball game. Scalise said he prays for the victims of the shooting and that the whole nation grieves with their loved ones.
Scalise encouraged people across America to stand together in solidarity to support the Las Vegas community, “especially by giving blood and encouraging others to do the same. In the face of unspeakable evil, our whole nation must respond with countless acts of kindness, warmth and generosity.”
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11:50 a.m.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut says it’s time for Congress to do something about mass shootings after more than 50 people were gunned down in Las Vegas.
Murphy, a leading gun-control proponent, said mass shootings had become an “epidemic” in America.
He said “it is positively infuriating that my colleagues in Congress are so afraid of the gun industry that they pretend there aren’t public policy responses to this epidemic.”
Other Democrats condemned the shooting but did not specifically urge gun-control legislation. Action in the Republican-controlled Congress is unlikely.
House Speaker Paul Ryan ordered flags over the Capitol lowered to half-staff and said “the whole country stands united in our shock, in our condolences and in our prayers.”
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11:33 a.m.
The White House says that President Donald Trump has spoken to the Nevada governor, the Las Vegas mayor and the Las Vegas sheriff about the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas.
The president called the attack on a Las Vegas concert an “act of pure evil” during remarks Monday. The shooting left more than 50 people dead and hundreds injured.
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11:13 a.m.
President Donald Trump has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of a mass shooting in Las Vegas. At least 50 people were killed and hundreds injured in the shooting Sunday night at a country music concert.
Trump issued a proclamation Monday ordering flags be flown at half-staff until sunset Oct. 6.
The proclamation covers flags at the White House and all public buildings, military posts, naval stations and naval vessels throughout the United States and all territories. It also extends to embassies, military facilities and other sites overseas.
In the proclamation, Trump says the nation “is heartbroken.”
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11:07 a.m.
President Donald Trump is delivering a message of unity in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history.
Trump says in a somber White House address that: “in moments of tragedy and horror, America comes together as one. And it always has.”
He says that “Our unity cannot be shattered by evil” and “our bonds cannot be broken by violence.”
At least 50 people are dead and more than 400 injured after a gunman opened fire on a Las Vegas country music festival.
Trump says he and first lady Melania Trump are praying for those who have been lost and wounded. He says they are praying “for the entire nation to find unity and peace.”
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11:03 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he will travel to Las Vegas on Wednesday.
He spoke Monday morning, hours after the shooting at a country music festival late Sunday killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 400. It is the worst mass shooting in American history.
Trump said the nation must stay unified. He said that although “feel such great anger at the senseless murder of our fellow citizens, it is our love that binds us today and always will.”
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10:55 a.m.
President Donald Trump is calling the mass shooting attack in Las Vegas “an act of pure evil.”
Trump says the nation is joined together today in sadness, shock and grief.
Trump is addressing the attack on a country music festival Sunday night that left at least 50 people dead and more than 400 injured.
Trump tweeted his “warmest condolences and sympathies” earlier Monday morning.
The gunman opened fire from inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Authorities say 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock killed himself after the shooting. Police have yet to determine a motive.
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7:25 a.m.
President Donald Trump is extending condolences to the victims of the shooting in Las Vegas and their families.
In a tweet Monday, Trump offered “My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was “briefed on the horrific tragedy in Las Vegas.”
Sanders said that “we are monitoring the situation closely and offer our full support to state and local officials. All of those affected are in our thoughts and prayers.”
A gunman’s attack on the Sunday night country music concert killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 200.
President Donald Trump makes a statement about the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017 at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., right, shakes her fist at the United States Capitol as she and her husband Mark Kelly, left, speak on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, about the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Giffords raised her fist at the Capitol and said “the nation is counting on you” after the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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