The Mandalay Bay Resort is releasing a statement of gratitude to all of the first responders that were on the scene after a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the hotel on Sunday night.
To our brave first responders, employees and the entire community, our everlasting gratitude. #VegasStrong pic.twitter.com/6498GKmsxM
— Mandalay Bay Resort (@MandalayBay) October 4, 2017
“To our brave first responders, employees and the entire community, our everlasting gratitude. #VegasStrong,” the message read.
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On Sunday night, suspected gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on concertgoers attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival from his room at the Mandalay Bay Resort. Around 22,000 people were in attendance at the concert.
According to police, Paddock killed 58 people and wounded around 500 others.
When the cops raided Paddock’s hotel suite, they discovered he had 23 guns in the room. Of the firearms in his room, several of them were high-powered rifles with bump stocks, which are modification tools that allow a gun to simulate rapid automatic gunfire.
Paddock also set up a security camera outside of his hotel room. According to Sheriff Lombardo, he believes that Paddock intended to escape his room.
“I anticipate he was looking for anybody coming to take him into custody,” Lombardo said. “This is my assumption and only my assumption and nobody has been able to dispel my assumption as of today.
“I believe that because of his countermeasures placed in the peephole and in the hallway, he observed the security guard and he was in fear that he was about to be breached. He was doing everything possible to figure out how he could escape at that point. His concern was personal concern versus what was occurring down below him,” Lombardo continued.
Initially, the authorities were under the impression that Paddock acted alone in this heinous act. However, Sheriff Joe Lombardo of the Clark County Police Department spoke out in a press conference saying that he likely had assistance, according to TODAY.
“You got to make the assumption, he had to have some help at some point,” he said.
Learn the latest on the Las Vegas gunman investigation here.
