Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has tweeted in solidarity with Las Vegas victims after the worst mass shooting in US history.
At least 50 people were killed and 400 more wounded when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock allegedly opened fire on a crowd of more than 22,000 concert goers at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas Village shortly after 10pm local time.
When news of the attack broke in Australia, Mr Turnbull took to Twitter to say: ‘Australia mourns with America tonight after shocking senseless attack in Las Vegas’.
‘Australia mourns with America tonight after shocking senseless attack in Las Vegas,’ Mr Turnbull posted on Twitter Monday
Three people lie on the ground, one covered in blood, after the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Sunday
His tweet followed President Donald Trump’s first response on Monday morning.
‘My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!’ President Trump said.
Officers said alleged shooter Paddock was shot and killed after they breached a room in the Mandalay Bay Hotel, where he had stashed an ‘arsenal’ of weapons used during the massacre.
Investigators are now raiding the home Paddock shared with Marilou Danley, his ‘companion’, who was ruled out as a person of interest.
Police located Danley early Monday morning, and after speaking with her, no longer believed she was involved in the shooting.
‘LVMPD detectives have made contact with her and do not believe she is involved with the shooting on the strip,’ the department said in a statement.
Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said investigations were still ongoing and police have not yet determined a motive. He was not believed to be connected to any militant group, Lombardo said.
‘We have no idea what his belief system was,’ he added.
President Trump has sent his ‘warmest condolences and sympathies’ to the victims of the worst mass shooting in American history after at least 50 were killed and 200 wounded in Las Vegas
At least 50 people are dead and 200 injured after the Sunday shooting at the Las Vegas music festival
Police on guard on the streets outside the Mandalay Bay. The shooter was killed inside the hotel
Stephen Paddock, 64, carried out the massacre after opening fire on the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday night
A police officer takes cover behind a police vehicle during the shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino (left); people take cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival (right)
Festival-goers, crouch in cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gunfire rained down on crowds
People assist a wounded woman at the Tropicana hotel, which is located close to where the Route 91 festival was being held
A body lies under a sheet on The Strip in Las Vegas as police secure the area after at least 50 people were killed on Sunday
Police detained Marilou Danley, described as Paddock’s ‘companion’ and his roommate, in the early hours of Monday morning. They say they don’t believe she was involved in the shooting
The gunman appeared to open fire on the Route 91 Harvest festival from the Mandalay Bay Casino. Unconfirmed reports were made of shots at the Bellagio. McCarran International Airport is now gradually reopening
Terrifying footage from the scene shows concert-goers reacting with confusion and then panic as the festival turned into a bloodbath around them.
Video from close to the stage shows people hitting the floor as others crawl to safety or run for their lives. Audio from further back in the crowd captured several bursts of sustained automatic gunfire.
Witnesses said ‘hundreds’ of rounds of ammunition were emptied into the crowd, with Paddock stopping several times to reload as he carried out his massacre.
Among those shot dead at the concert were two off-duty police officers. Attendees said a large number of law enforcement and military personnel had been attending the show.
Two on-duty Las Vegas police officers who engaged the shooter have been hospitalized. One of the officers was critically injured, but is now in stable condition after undergoing surgery. The other officer suffered minor injuries. Neither have been identified. Two officers with the Las Angeles police were also injured in the shooting. One is in critical condition and the other is in stable condition. Their names have not been released either.
All of the ambulances in the area were been deployed to the location, and victims taken to two hospitals.
Danley, Paddock’s ‘companion,’ is described as an Asian woman, around four feet 11 inchest tall and weighing 111lbs
A wounded person is walked in on a wheelbarrow as Las Vegas police respond to the active shooter situation
First responders and bystanders carry an injured person to an emergency station located at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Ave – one block north of the shooting
People dive for cover at Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Officers are seen outside the Mandalay Bay hotel, where the shooter was holed up in a room on the 32nd floor
This was the scene at the music festival before the assassin opened fire on the crowds of as many as 30,000 people
Jason Aldean was on stage (pictured) at the festival when the gunfire rang out. He continued playing for 10 seconds as shots were fired; he was then rushed off the stage. He and his team are confirmed to be safe
This photograph shows a bullet hole left in the wall of a metal building in which fleeing bystanders had hidden
One witness at the concert told DailyMail.com that a woman had entered the crowd with a male companion and screamed ‘They’re all around… You’re all going to f***ing die today’ just 45 minutes before the gunfire broke out.
The woman was described as being Hispanic and in her 50s; she and the man were escorted out of the venue by security.
Witness Breanna Hendricks, who was in Vegas celebrating her 21st birthday, said: ‘There was a lady who came running up behind us in the concert and she started to play with people’s hair acting crazy and she told us that we’re all going to f***ing die.
‘She said they’re all around us and we were going to die,’ continued Hendricks, whose mom Shawn Hendricks also witnessed the startling altercation.
‘She was Hispanic, probably about 5ft 5, brown hair. It felt like she had knowledge of what was about to happen, her and her boyfriend who was also Hispanic.
‘The woman was saying her boyfriend couldn’t breathe so they could get through the crowd.
‘It seemed she was telling us to either warn us or she was part of it and she was telling us because she knew we were going to die, it was so scary.’
It’s not clear whether what she witnessed is related to the shooting or not.
Witness Breanna Hendricks, who is in Vegas celebrating her 21st birthday, told DailyMail.com that a woman had told the crowd ‘You’re all going to f***ing die today’ 45 minutes before the shooting. It’s not known if the two are connected
This was the moment that crowds began to flee the scene as gunfire rang out at the 30,000-strong music festival is attacked. At first crowds didn’t seem to know what was happening
People scramble over barriers to get to safety as the gunfire rages on at the Las Vegas event
A man lays on top of a woman as others flee the music festival grounds. She appears to be alive and moving
What appears to be a body under a sheet lies in front of swarms of police and rescue personnel at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Ave
Professional poker player Dan Bilzerian, who was at the event, streamed footage of himself running. ‘Holy f**k this girl just got shot in the f**king head,’ he said, ‘This is so f**king crazy.’
Video footage of the shooting shows performer Jason Aldean on stage as the automatic gunfire rings out.
Aldean continues performing for ten seconds as the gunfire rings out constantly, only stopping after screams begin to rise from the crowds.
People in the crowds argue over whether they just heard gunshots as the lights on the stage dim and Aldean and his band leave.
He later posted a message on Instagram that read: ‘Tonight has been beyond horrific. I still dont know what to say but wanted to let everyone know that Me and my Crew are safe.
‘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. #heartbroken #stopthehate’
Aldean was the closing act of the festival. Taking to Twitter, many other stars sent out their thoughts and prayers to those affected.
Jake Owen, who played the main stage before Aldean, tweeted: ‘Praying for everyone here in Vegas. I witnessed the most unimaginable event tonight. We are okay. Others aren’t. Please pray.’
Lauren Alaina, tweeted: ‘Praying for everyone at Route 91. That crowd was one of the best I’ve played for all year. This news is devastating. My camp is home & safe.’
The Brothers Osborne urged revelers to find cover immediately, tweeting: ‘Just hearing about active shooting at Route 91 Festival in Vegas. Take cover and get safe immediately! Prayers to everyone there.’
Singer Lee Brice, who performed on the opening night on Friday, posted: ‘Hearts out to Vegas. Route 91 concert, stage I played two nights ago. Musicians, fans, workers, you are all in our prayers right now.’
Michael Ray said: ‘My heart is breaking we were just there Friday! My prayers are with everyone.’
People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after the gunman opened fire
Initially people peacefully crouched at the command of police (left). But as the countless rounds rang out, people began to panic and flee
Police officers with shotguns and machine guns advise people to take cover near the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort
Witnesses said that the crowd initially got calmly down on the ground, but as more people fell to the gunfire, mass panic took hold and people began to stampede from the scene.
Speaking on a bus laid on to transport concert goers away from the scene, Lisa Price, 43, and Nancy Stover, 38, of Los Angeles said: ‘People were lying on the ground – I was like get up, you’re going to get trodden on.
‘We just heard like pop, pop, pop, pop and started walking – it was happening over and over again.
‘It was at least 20 shots. Enough for us to start walking, then running and panicking. Luckily, we seemed to be further away – we were at the front of the concert near the stage.
‘It seemed to be coming from the back. We were running to try to help people and they were coming from that direction.’
A man in a wheelchair, apparently in distress, is taken away from the festival in the wake of the shooting
People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gunfire was heard. Witnesses said they initially ducked down at the command of police, but panic then took hold and there was a stampede
People flee from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, amid reports of gunfire there and at a nearby hotel
Hundreds of rounds of automatic gunfire were reported by witnesses on the scene; one woman in the Mandalay Bay said that there was a shooter on the 32nd floor, and that they had killed a security guard
People tend to the wounded outside the festival ground after the shooting. One person can be seen with a shirt draped over their face; it’s not clear if they are dead
Other sobbing concertgoers told DailyMail.com that the gunfire was so intense, it sounded like July 4th.
Derek and Karen Bernard, from Los Angeles, California, were in town for the Route 91 country festival and were close to the stage when the shooting began.
‘We were inside,’ said sales manager Derek, 53. ‘All of a sudden, we saw the band disappearing – they were like running off the stage.
‘We were off to the left side of the stage, we were running off there and there were staff security there.
‘There was a woman bleeding – that’s when we realized it was real shots. She just fell. She was shot. There was a lot of blood.
‘It was so many – it sounded like 4th of July – just pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. So many. I didn’t think it was real because I couldn’t see or feel anything. I was so panicked.’
Professional poker player Dan Bilzerian, who was at the event, streamed footage of himself running. Noises that could be helicopters or gunfire could be heard in the background.
‘Holy f**k this girl just got shot in the f**king head,’ he said, ‘This is so f**king crazy.’
Police officers and medical personnel stand at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers point their weapons at a car driving down closed Tropicana Ave. near Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival nearby on October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Police and rescue personnel gather at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue – one block north of the music festival – after the mass shooting
Hotel guests staying at the Mandalay Bay said they were woken by SWAT teams bursting into their rooms.
Brad Baker, 38, of Austin, Texas, was in Las Vegas for a conference. ‘I think it [the shooter] was on my floor,’ he said. ‘When they [the police] came into my room, I was totally out – I thought I was in trouble!
‘They yelled at me like, ‘Get some clothes on.’ I got my shirt on but I left my phone, my wallet. When I came out of my room, they were telling us to run. I saw all the cops with guns. It was crazy.
‘I saw them run up the stairs – there were maybe like six people [police] on our floor. I was on the 32nd floor – they’re saying the guy was like four rooms down from me.’
Another witness said he was in the room next to the gunman when he opened fire.
‘I was in room 135 and I heard over the police scanner that the shooting came from room 137,’ said the man, who asked not to be named.
‘It was non-stop, I would say well over 100 rounds. We hit the floor and took cover. I called the front desk and she was remarkably calm and said she was aware of the situation and told us to stay in our room.
‘After around 10-15 minutes it just kind of stopped. You could smell the gun powder. Right before we got out I heard an explosion, maybe a flashbang, but windows were blown out.
‘The cops came on to the floor and they were clearing rooms room by room and six or seven cops came into our room and we were evacuated.’
A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer stands in the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Ave. after a mass shooting at a country music festival nearby on October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada
A police officer runs along the sidewalk towards the scenes of violence. Las Vegas Metropolitan PD officers were joined by other police from the surrounding counties
Police run to cover at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay shooting
Dozens were seen on aerial footage fleeing the Mandalay Bay, which was locked down, as police surrounded the location.
Unconfirmed reports were made of a suspicious vehicle outside the Luxor, and shots fired at other Vegas locations: Aria, NYNY and Tropicana.
The LVMPD tweeted: ‘Please avoid heading to the south end of the Strip. Las Vegas Blvd is shut down at Tropicana, southbound past Russell Rd at this time.’
Flights out of the city’s McCarran International Airport have started up again after initially being shut down during the shooting.
A concert-goer said he heard what sounded like fireworks while he was watching Aldean’s performance.
Kodiak Yazzi, 36, said the music stopped temporarily and started up again before another round of pops sent the performers ducking for cover and fleeing the stage.
As the 40,000 fans in the crowd began to flee, Yazzi took cover and said he saw flashes of light coming from the Mandalay Bay hotel tower high above.
The bursts of pops would start and stop for more than five minutes, he said, and dozens of ambulances arrived as he ran for safety. He later got a Lyft driver to take him home to suburban Henderson.
Derek and Karen Bernard, 53 and 51, from LA where witnesses to the shooting at the Mandalay bay hotel Sunday night
A discarded cowboy hat is seen lying in the street in the wake of the horrifying mass shooting
Bystanders on the Las Vegas Strip come to terms with what they’ve seen after the brutal shooting