2017 Las Vegas Strip Shooting

Overview

The 2017 Las Vegas Strip Shooting was a mass shooting that occurred during a country music concert in early October 2017, in which 58 people were killed and an additional 515 were injured. The shooter was later found dead due to a self-inflicted gunshot and was identified as 64-year-old Nevada resident Stephen Craig Paddock.

Background

At around 10:08 p.m. (PST) on October 1st, 2017, Paddock began shooting from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort at people attending a country music festival across from him on the other side of the Las Vegas strip. According to initial reports, 58 people were confirmed dead, including one off-duty police officer, and an additional 515 people were wounded, marking the event as the deadliest shooting in modern American history.

Developments

Videos

That evening, Instagram user @vincestagramen posted video showing people diving to the ground to avoid gunfire, which can be heard in the background (shown below).

Meanwhile, YouTubers Sam Perry and yx0ify uploaded videos taken during the shooting (shown below).

Online Reaction

That evening, Redditor TeaGuru submitted a post titled "Active shooter/s at Mandalay Bay Las Vegas" to /r/news,^[1] where it received upwards of 8,700 points (98% upvoted) and 6,400 comments within the next 10 hours. Additionally, a Reddit Live^[2] thread was launched titled "Mass shooting on Las Vegas strip, dozens of casualties."

Official Response

Following the shooting, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo held a media briefing discussing the incident, revealing that the shooter was dead but that they were looking for his companion Marilou Danley (shown below).

Early the next morning, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Twitter feed posted a photograph of Danley, urging anyone that has seen her call 9-1-1 (shown below). Later that day, Lombardo revealed that Danley had been located and do not believe she was involved in the shooting.^[7]

That day, President Donald Trump responded to the shooting, calling it "an act of pure evil" (shown below).

ISIS Response

That evening, the ISIS propaganda group Amaq released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, saying Paddock was a "soldier of the Islamic State." An FBI spokesperson later revealed no evidence had been found linking Paddock to the terrorist organization.^[3]

Hoaxes

On social media, photographs of Sam Hyde and TheReportOfTheWeek were circulated falsely identifying them as victims or shooters.^[5][6] On October 2nd, BBC Trending^[4] published an article about the hoax photos, noting that CNN had mistakenly included a photo of Sam Hyde in a report on a shooting in Oregon in October 2015.

MGM Liability Lawsuit

On July 16th, 2018, MGM Resorts International filed federal lawsuits against more than 1,000 victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting. The complaint argues that deaths, injuries and damages that occurred as a result of the shooting "must be dismissed."^[8] The company cited a 2002 anti-terrorism law in their argument, which extends "liability protection to any company that uses 'anti-terrorism' technology or services that can 'help prevent and respond to mass violence.'"

In a statement, Debra DeShong, a spokeswoman for MGM Resorts,^[9] said:

"The unforeseeable events of October 1st affected thousands of people in Las Vegas and throughout North America. From the day of this tragedy, we have focused on the recovery of those impacted by the despicable act of one evil individual. While we expected the litigation that followed, we also feel strongly that victims and the community should be able to recover and find resolution in a timely manner. … The Federal Court is an appropriate venue for these cases and provides those affected with the opportunity for a timely resolution. Years of drawn out litigation and hearings are not in the best interest of victims, the community and those still healing."

As a result of the lawsuit, some said that they would not be spending money at MGM Resorts in the future. Twitter^[10] user @pauls551 tweeted, "I won't be visiting any MGM Resorts International properties for poker or anything else, including @Bellagio and @BellagioPoker. Suing the victims? Have you no shame @MGMResortsIntl? Ultra-disgusting corporate behavior." The post (shown below) received more than 1,400 retweets and 3,800 likes in 24 hours.

Search Interest

External References