Las Vegas shooting: 20 dead as gunman opens fire at concert, 1 suspect down

At least one gunman is reported to have opened fire at a country music festival taking place at the Strip

Agencies | Las Vegas Last Updated at October 2, 2017 15:21 IST

Las Vegas Police controlling the situation. Photo: ANI

A shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip killed at least 20 people and injured over 100, according to media reports.

Las Vegas police on Monday alerted people to avoid the area near the Mandalay Bay Casino on the city's Strip due to reports of an active shooter, media reports said.

Confirming that one suspect is down. This is an active investigation. Again, please do not head down to the Strip at this time.
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) October 2, 2017

UPDATE: Flights in and out of @LASairport have been temporarily halted in response to reported shooting incident on Las Vegas Strip.
— McCarran Airport (@LASairport) October 2, 2017

Please avoid the south end of the Strip. Very sad night for Las Vegas. https://t.co/1Cwb10fwEC
— City of Las Vegas (@CityOfLasVegas) October 2, 2017

Dozens of patrol vehicles descended on the Strip after authorities received reports of an active shooter near the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

Concert-goers reported seeing muzzle flashes from the upper floors of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across Las Vegas Boulevard from the country music festival and the sound of what they described as automatic gunfire.

Twenty-six people were admitted to the hospital, University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said. Of those, at least two died, 12 were in critical condition and the rest were being evaluated, she said.

Witnesses said they saw multiple victims as they fled the gunfire raining down on the concert venue. Some later huddled in the basement of the nearby Tropicana hotel-casino.

Some officers took cover behind their vehicles while others carrying assault rifles ran into the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

Authorities shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip and Interstate 15.

Some flights destined for the McCarran International Airport were diverted due to the shooting.

Witnesses say country singer Jason Aldean was playing near the end of the concert when gunfire began.

No further information was immediately known.

VIDEO of Active Shooter at the Tropicana near Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas #MandalayBayShooting #LasVegasShooting #LasVegas #MandalayBay #Luxor pic.twitter.com/1UFHQRJX7M
— PROGRESSIVES 4 (@Democratic_Rep) October 2, 2017

First Published: Mon, October 02 2017. 14:20 IST