Las Vegas: After fleeing in terror from a massacre of music fans, Ralph Rodriguez returned to his hotel room to discover that America’s deadliest shooting had been carried out under his feet.
After a weekend at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay hotel, Rodriguez had been enjoying a Sunday night concert by country music star Jason Aldean when gunfire began crackling around the open-air venue.
ALSO READ:
Las Vegas shooting: 'No terrorism links'
Las Vegas gunman liked to gamble, listened to country music
The Las Vegas ‘sleepover’ that ended in a nightmare
Deadliest mass shootings in the US
Las Vegas gunman's companion no longer 'person of interest'
In Pictures: Shooting at Las Vegas Strip
In an interview, Rodriguez recounted the terrifying moment the crowd realized they were being raked with bullets by a gunman stationed on the 32nd floor of his hotel.
Rodriguez, an IT consultant, was staying in the room directly above the shooter Stephen Paddock who murdered at least 58 people before turning a weapon upon himself.
“He (Aldean) had only done two or three songs when we heard what we thought were firecrackers, to the right of the stage. But then it started and it just didn’t stop,” said Rodriguez, who is from the Pomona Valley, near Los Angeles.
“We saw the lights go out on the stage and the band run off. Just then, all the people that had been standing in the festival area came running, crushing towards us.
“People started grabbing their loved-ones and just strangers, and trying to help them get out of the way.
“It was a horrible experience, but everybody was helping somebody.
“I saw people picking up kids that weren’t theirs, I saw people pushing wheelchairs for some people they didn’t know. They did whatever they could to get those people out of there,” he said.
‘Incredibly chaotic’
“Our problem was we didn’t know we know where the shots were coming from, so we were running but we didn’t know where we were running. It was incredibly chaotic,” Rodriguez said.
“Then finally, officers started telling us to keep running towards the exit which was pretty far away.
“Some issues were happening there so we had to give that up, and we ended up at the other corner and had to climb a 10-foot fence,” he said.
“We used the guard rails as a ladder and we just started throwing people over and catching them on the other side.
“We saw bodies down. We didn’t know if they had fallen or had been shot. Some people we grabbed and they were bleeding,” he said.
“We didn’t know why — we didn’t have time to ask. We said: ‘If you can hold it, hold it’ and we’d just keep moving.”
Eventually Rodriguez managed to make his back to the hotel — a massive casino-resort complex — where he made the grim discovery that Paddock had been staying immediately below him.
Police have now sealed off the room, easily identifiable from outside as Paddock smashed a window in order to take aim at the crowds below with his arsenal of weapons.
“He’s on the 32nd floor, room 134, and I’m on the 33rd floor room 134,” Rodriguez said in an interview in the hotel lobby.
“And so today, when the wind blows, his drapes come up and hit my window. Pretty freaky.”
As well as the dozens of dead, more than 500 people were wounded in the shooting, the worst in modern US history.
For all the horrors that he witnessed, Rodriguez was grateful that he and his friends had emerged unscathed after reconnecting through the night.
“I’m with a group of about eight to 12 people so all our friends were at different places around the venue. Thank God, they all made it out.”
'No connection' to terrorism: FBI
Investigators have so far found "no connection" between international terrorist groups and a mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed at least 58 people and injured more than 500, an FBI special agent said Monday.
Daesh, through its propaganda arm, had earlier claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming the shooter was a recently converted "soldier". Police said the attack was carried out by Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old retired accountant.
"As this event unfolds we have determined to this point no connection with an international terrorist group," said Aaron Rouse, the special agent in charge of the Las Vegas office of the
Daesh claims responsibility
Daesh has claimed responsibility for a shooting that killed at least 58 people and wounded over 500 in Las Vegas early on Monday.
"The Las Vegas attack was carried out by a soldier of the Islamic State and he carried it out in response to calls to target states of the coalition," the group's news agency Amaq said in reference to the U.S.-led coalition fighting the group in the Middle East.
"The Las Vegas attacker converted to Islam a few months ago," Amaq added.
UAE condems deadly Las Vegas attack
The UAE on Monday strongly condemned the mass shooting in Las Vegas, which left at least 58 dead and over 500 people injured
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed the UAE's condemnation of the terrorist incident in a statement reaffirming the UAE's firm stand against terrorism and violence, in its various forms.
The ministry expressed its deep regret that many victims were killed as a result of this attack.
The ministry also expressed the UAE’s solidarity with the US government in the face of violence and terrorism, and called on the international community to unite and to put an end to this serious scourge that threatens world security and stability.
It offered the condolences of the UAE to the government and people of US, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
Las Vegas shooting: death toll crosses 50
Las Vegas: A gunman on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas Strip casino opened fire on an outdoor music festival, killing at least 58 people — including two off-duty police officers. More than 500 people were taken to hospital, officials said on Monday.
The gunman, who was a local man, was killed after police "engaged the suspect," Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters. Police named the gunman as Stephen Paddock. Police are reportedly looking for his companion.
Officers confronted the suspect on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street from the concert and he was killed, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said. Authorities did not release the suspect's name but said he is a local resident.
Watch: Witness recounts horrifying details of Las Vegas attack
Police said that the shooter was taken "down" after officers swarmed over the famous boulevard following reports of multiple shots being fired from the Mandalay Bay casino.
Country music star Jason Aldean was performing on stage when the shots began ringing out Sunday night at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
Concert-goers reported hearing what they described as automatic gun fire during the shooting.
Pictures taken at the scene showed revelers cowering in the street or running in terror, as well what appeared to be several bodies lying prone on the ground.
WARNING: THIS VIDEO MAY CONTAIN SOME STRONG LANGUAGE
EYEWITNESS: Chilling footage of moment active shooter opened fire on concert goers near Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/7OfAwg0ReO
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) October 2, 2017
A witness told local TV news station KLAS he saw someone several stories high firing hundreds of shots into a crowd of people. Police, however, denied reports of multiple shooters.
"At this time we do not believe there are any more shooters," the department wrote on Twitter.
The two off-duty officers killed in the shooting were attending the concert, according to police. Another off-duty officer was in critical condition and another was wounded.
Police have cordoned off Las Vegas Boulevard and parts of Interstate 15, while flights have been suspended at McCarran International Airport.
Gunfire reportedly erupted during the Route 91 Harvest concert, as country musician Jason Aldean performed at the popular casino hotel.
Hours after the shooting, Aldean posted on Instagram that he and his crew were safe and said the shooting was "beyond horrific."
Kodiak Yazzie, 36, said he and his girlfriend were watching Aldean's performance when he heard what sounded like fireworks. The music stopped temporarily and started up again before another round of pops sent the performers ducking for cover and fleeing the stage.
Thousands fled as bursts of gunfire could be heard for more than five minutes, Yazzie said.
As it happened...
Death toll rises
At least 58 people killed, more than 500 people injured in Las Vegas attack: Nevada police.
Daesh claims deadly Las Vegas attack
Daesh has claimed responsibility for a shooting that killed at least 50 people and wounded over 400 in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas gunman's companion no longer 'person of interest'
Police say they don't believe 62-year-old Marilou Danley was involved in the Sunday night shooting that killed at least 50 people.
400 taken to hospitals
More than 400 people taken to hospitals after Las Vegas attack; gunman had at least eight guns in hotel room: police.
Death toll rises
Death toll cross 50; police name gunman as Stephen Paddock.
Shooter identified
Las Vegas shooter was local man, companion sought: police
Death toll rises
More than 20 dead in Las Vegas shooting: police
Suspect down
Las Vegas police say one suspect is 'down' after shooting at country music festival that has left two people dead and dozens wounded.
University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said 26 people were admitted to the hospital.
Dozens of patrol vehicles descended on the Strip after authorities received reports of an active shooter near the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
Some officers took cover behind their vehicles while others carrying assault rifles ran into the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Two people dead
A Las Vegas hospital says at least two people are dead and dozens wounded after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.
University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said 26 people were admitted to the hospital. She says, of those, at least two have died, 12 are in critical condition and the rest are being evaluated.
Dozens of patrol vehicles descended on the Strip after authorities received reports of an active shooter near the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
Chaos at concert
Concert-goers reported seeing muzzle flashes from the upper floors of the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino across Las Vegas Boulevard from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival and the sound of what they described as automatic gun fire.
Witnesses say they saw multiple victims Sunday night as they fled the gunfire raining down on the concert venue.
Some later huddled in the basement of the nearby Tropicana hotel-casino.
Multiple victims hospitalised
Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.
Dozens of patrol vehicles descended on the Strip after authorities received reports of an active shooter near the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
Some officers took cover behind their vehicles while others carrying assault rifles ran into the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said the Las Vegas hospital is taking in "several" people with gunshot wounds. She didn't have any other immediate information.
Authorities shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip and Interstate 15.
Some flights destined for the McCarran International Airport were diverted due to incident.
Witnesses say country singer Jason Aldean was playing near the end of the concert when gunfire rang out.
No further information was immediately known.
