Las Vegas shooting: Death toll rises to 50

International Desk: At least 50 people have been killed and another 200 have been wounded in a mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert.

A gunman, named as 64-year-old local resident Stephen Paddock, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel toward an open-air music festival.

He was shot dead by officers in the hotel where a number of guns were found.

The attack is the worst mass shooting in recent US history.

Sheriff Joe Lombardo described the shooting as a "lone wolf" attack. He added that police were now confident they had located a woman, earlier named as Marilou Danley, who was suspected of travelling with the gunman before the attack.

Sheriff Lombardo said he was unable to give accurate details of dead and wounded, but confirmed two off-duty police officers were among those killed.

A local hospital spokesperson said earlier that at least 14 of the injured were in a critical condition.

There had been reports of other incidents at different locations along the Las Vegas strip, but police said those reports were false.

Witnesses reported that hundreds of shots were fired.

Hundreds of people fled the scene and the sound of what appeared to be prolonged automatic gunfire could be heard on videos posted on social media.

Many hotels on the Las Vegas strip close to the scene remained on police lockdown and parts of Las Vegas Boulevard were shut.

People sheltered in hotels, restaurants and at Las Vegas McCarran airport.

A witness, Mike Thompson from London, told the BBC that he saw people running in total panic.

"One man had blood all over him and that's when I knew something was seriously wrong.

"People were running and there was chaos."

Some flights were diverted after news of the incident emerged.

The country music festival had been taking place since Friday at several hotels on the Las Vegas strip.

Nevada has some of the least stringent gun laws in the United States.

People are allowed to carry weapons and do not have to register themselves as a gun-owner.

Background checks are done when people buy guns, but they are also allowed to sell them privately.

The state does not ban assault weapons, which are automatic or semi-automatic firearms, and there are no limits on buying ammunition there.

Source: BBC online

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