An Australian family have told of the ‘scariest night of our life’ after being forced to walk with their hands up across an empty casino after a mass shooting in Las Vegas.
At least 20 people are dead and more than 100 wounded after a gunman opened fire at a Las Vegas country music festival near the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Kevin Comerford, Nicole Shipman and her daughter Maddy Aspinall, 14, from Grafton in NSW, were in Las Vegas for one night only after a dance academy tour in the US had finished.
‘This was supposed to be a one night special stop because we’d never been to Las Vegas before … we were planning to live it up for one night and we’ve had probably the scariest night of our life,’ Mr Comerford told AAP on the phone.
Kevin Comerford, Nicole Shipman (pictured top of left) and her daughter Maddy Aspinall (bottom of left), 14, from Grafton in NSW, were in Las Vegas for one night only after a dance academy tour in the US had finished
An Australian family have told of the ‘scariest night of our life’ after being forced to walk with their hands up across an empty casino after a mass shooting in Las Vegas
At least 20 people are dead and more than 100 wounded after a gunman opened fire at a Las Vegas country music festival near the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino
They rode in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon on Sunday afternoon and then returned to their hotel, about two blocks from the shooting scene.
The family had headed out to see the city in the evening and witnessed a rush of people running down the street and police and ambulances swarming.
Mr Comerford said it took them about an hour to get safely back to their hotel and they bunkered down in the convention centre with other guests.
Mr Comerford said Maddy had coped well with the ordeal.
‘That is until we got to the hotel and the police had us walk through the empty casino with our hands above our head and it became very, very real for her then,’ he said.
‘That’s when she got very upset. She’s been a brave girl.’
Mr Comerford said it took them about an hour to get safely back to their hotel and they bunkered down in the convention centre with other guests
At least 20 people are dead and more than 100 wounded after a gunman opened fire at a Las Vegas country music festival near the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino
Australia’s Consulate General in LA is making urgent inquiries with local authorities to determine if any Australians have been injured or killed
The family has a flight booked to New York on Monday afternoon and plans to continue the rest of their holiday.
A Perth woman told Fairfax she only checked out of the Mandalay the morning of the shooting and had been rushed out of another casino as the incident unfolded.
‘We were over at New York New York having some drinks with friends from Perth and there were police and ambulance and fire brigade everywhere and bodies on the street,’ she said.
‘People were terrified running around… we got in the lift to come up to the room where I my friends were staying and people were screaming and terrified. I’ve never seen faces like theirs before.’
The Strip has been completely shut down after the sniper opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort and casino, located across a junction from the event
Police confirmed that one suspect had been killed, and said at 12:38am that they believed there were no more shooters
Australia’s Consulate General in LA is making urgent inquiries with local authorities to determine if any Australians have been injured or killed.
‘If you have any concerns for the welfare of family and friends in the Las Vegas area, you should attempt to contact them directly,’ a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman told AAP.
People unable to make contact with loved ones should phone the DFAT emergency hotline: 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305
People unable to make contact with loved ones should phone the DFAT emergency hotline: 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305
The shooter was killed after cops breached at the Mandalay Bay with explosives
At least 20 people have been killed, including two police officers, and more than 100 injured after at least one gunman unloaded hundreds of rounds of ammo on a Las Vegas country music festival on Sunday night. There were 30,000 people in attendance at the event.
The Strip has been completely shut down after the sniper opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort and casino, located across a junction from the event.
Police confirmed that one suspect had been killed, and said at 12:38am that they believed there were no more shooters. Reports of shootings at other locations were unfounded, police said.
The shooter was killed after cops breached at the Mandalay Bay with explosives.
Police are now looking for a woman named Marilou Danley, whom they believe may have information that could help their investigation.
Police are now searching for Marilou Danley (pictured left and right), whom they say may have information on the shooter as she was his roommate or companion. No information has been given out about the killer, only that he was a local man
Police advised everyone in the area to continue sheltering in place until their safety can be guaranteed
Speaking at a press conference early Monday morning, police said that they did not believe there were any more active shooters, and that claims of other explosive devices and suspicious cars were just rumors that emerged in the chaos after the shooting.
The shooter was not identified, except as a local man.
Police are now seeking a woman named Marilou Danley whom they believe to have information they need. She is described as an Asian woman, around four feet 11 inchest tall and weighing 111lbs.
She and the shooter are said to be roommates or companions; their precise relationship has not been explained.
They are also trying to locate two vehicles that they say belonged to the shooter: a Hyundai Tucson, license plate 114 B40, and a Chrysler Pacfica, license plate 19D 401.
They advised everyone in the area to continue sheltering in place until their safety can be guaranteed.