1-866-535-5654. we now get back to "gma's" coverage o good morning, america. breaking news for our viewers out west. the deadliest mass shooting in american history. a shooter opening fire going on a deadly rampage in las vegas. killing more than 50, injuring more than 400. that's the sound of bullets taking over the arena at a country music festival on the strip. the shooter taking aim from high above, inside the mandalay bay hotel, firing rapid rounds for 4:30. >> they just kept going and going. >> chaos erupting. thousands scrambling, running for their lives. trying to take cover. some hiding under the stage for the spray of bullets.

>> i heard it. just going nonstop. >> the rush to take down the shooter. a s.w.a.t. team breaking down the shooter's door. >> breach, breach, breach. >> our team live on the scene right now for a special edition of "gma." >> good morning, america. it is a tragic monday morning here in america. that is the scene, the mandalay bay hotel in las vegas, and you just saw the picture right there. we should put that back up right now. that is where the shooter unleashed his fire on the concert. the country music festival last night. jason aldean was on the stage. you can't open those windows. he blew right through it. ten weapons inside, and unleashed the deadliest mass shooting in american history. 50 dead, and more than 400 wounded. >> those images have been coming in all night long and into the

morning, showing the moment the concert turned tragic. the gunman opening fire during jason aldean's performance and this is what it sounded like. ♪ [ gunfire ] >> we also have a look at the shooting from the concert-goers' perspective. 4:30 of gunfire. >> 22,000 people at that concert. the shooter as we said, high above that scene. 32nd floor of the mandalay bay hotel. shot through 4:30, 200 rounds. he was found dead in his hotel room by the police minutes later. >> and here's what we know at this hour. more than 50 people have been killed. well over 400 injured. that means about 1 in 50 people at the concert are hurt. the shooter is identified as

64-year-old stephen paddock who is now dead. the police believe he is the only attacker and he had ten rifles in the hotel room with him. >> matt gutman has been on this all through the night and he joins us now. >> reporter: good morning, george. that gunman raining gunfire down upon those 22,000 concert-goers. as you mentioned, 200 rounds in 4:30, and those 22,000 people who had nowhere to go. they were cheek to jowl, and shoulder to shoulder. to a person, they all felt their lives were in jeopardy. overnight, terror on the las vegas strip. more than 400 transported to hospitals and 50 killed in the deadliest shooting in u.s. history. the gunfire exploding at a music concert near the mandalay bay casino. at 10:08 local, gun pyfire ring

out at the route 91 harvest music festival. 22,000 people in attendance. jason aldean started his set. >> it sounded like firecrackers, and everybody got startled for a second, and then it stopped and then two, three seconds later, another burst. >> it was crazy. i have never seen anything like that in my life. boom, boom, boom, booming boom. >> reporter: panic scattering. first responders rushed to the scene. they ferried the wounded victims by pickup truck and used a barricade as a makeshift stretcher. >> we need your truck to get people over to the hospital, okay? >> we are looking at an excess of 50 individuals dead and over 200 individuals dead. >> reporter: then s.w.a.t. teams zeroing in on the 32nd floor of

the hotel. >> all units on the 32nd floo. s.w.a.t. has explosive and they are breaching. >> breach, breach breach. >> one of my officers was off duty attending the concert and lost his life. >> reporter: at 1:30 a.m., the police confirming the shooter was dead. >> we believe right now it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. >> reporter:wound. >> reporter: the shooter now identified as 64-year-old stephen paddock of nevada, a search for his companion. authorities do not believe she is involved. a swarm of federal agencies, the atf and fbi on the scene to assist with the investigation. amidst that savagery, there was tremendous heroism by the concert-goers, some people driving through the gunfire, and others covering their loved ones with their bodice. friends plugging the wounds of

their other friends with their hands, stuffing them with their shirts and anything to help them. in any cases, they hauled them out of harm's way, and so many instances putting themselves at risk. robin? george? >> we're going to talk to one of those heroes right now. i spoke to someone who helped save his friend who had multiple gunshot wounds. >> it was very horrifying. at first, it sounded like fire works and then my buddy that was standing right next to me said, i'm hit. then we knew it was real. and it was chaos. we got him down, and people screaming, and -- >> he got hit right in the chest? >> just pretty horrific. my buddy got shot three times in the chest. >> how is he doing? >> last i heard -- i haven't

been on the, you know, leave here, but he said he was going to be good. >> my goodness. tell us what happened in those moments afterward. how did you all get out of there? >> we -- most people started scattering, and they climbed fence, but i had to stay with my buddy. so we got him over the fence once the fire stopped, and slid him under the stage so we were safe. and then we -- we transported him around the backside of event. >> how did you get him around? how did you stop the bleeding? >> we got him to triage. there was three of us carrying him, and there was a cart. we got him on the cart and we wheeled that around. >> so you were able to get him to the triage, and then where did you all go next? how did you find safety? >> i wasn't really worried about the safety part because i was going to stay with my buddy.

there were no ambulances available really because it was a fire zone. so we actually got four wounded people in the back of a truck. >> i know you got four wounded people in the back of the truck, but not all of them made it. >> no, and we -- one of the guys in our truck did not make it either. i carried him out of the truck and he passed away in my arms. >> i can't imagine what that must have been like, but you had the presence of mind to try to get people to safety, but this all unfolded so quickly. >> very quick. it was -- it's surreal. >> and in those moments, where were your thoughts? >> my first thoughts were for my buddy, you know, i wanted to make sure he was taken care of.

but, you know, we were pretty much yelling at everybody to stay down, you know, that was -- that was what we needed to do. i'm glad you are okay now. so sorry for your friend and all those who lost their lives and loved ones in this, but thank you for being with us this morning. >> thank you. >> a lot of selflessness. >> every time i hear his account. we're also learning more about the shooter this morning. we know he is considered a local, open fire from that hotel window right there. let's bring back our chief investigative correspondent. >> at this point, authorities say there is no connection whatsoever to international terrorism, but this was clearly an attack that was well planned, carried out with a hard to obtain set of automatic weapons. he checked into room 135 on thursday night, and at 10:08, he broke through the window and fired for 4:30 raining down

bullets upon the 22,000 concert-goers. he fired rounds at a rate of sometimes 600 pounds a minute. he was foundd when policeea d reached roof according to authorities there. his motive remains a mystery. all we know about him is he once worked as an accountant. he had a private pilot's license and a hunting license. police say there is no criminal record, no contact they know of with law enforcement, and as far as we know, no grievance with anyone in las vegas. his companion was being sought this morning by authorities. they located her out of the country and said she had nothing to do whatsoever with the attack. she posted photos of herself at the mandalay bay casino three years ago at a slot machine contest where she was there with -- with paddock. but she has no connection whatsoever. >> i wonder how they could

conclude so quickly she has no connection. >> i think the fact she wasn't in the country. she was long gone, but we don't know. she may hold a key as to what was the motive, and what was going on in the mind of this killer. >> thanks very much. they are also searching the home of the killer. i want to go to kenneth moton who is at the killer's house, and we have heard the search has been completed at the house? >> reporter: that's right, george. new information just in. they had been on this scene for quite a few hours searching the home for stephen paddock. police are keeping us back from that house. they have a command center up the road. we know in the early morning hours after the shooting, police rushed to this neighborhood about 70 miles from las vegas. they evacuated the people and the houses around paddock's home. police were not sure what they were dealing with, and they wanted to secure the house and

this area on the scene. the fbi, las vegas pd, and two s.w.a.t. teams. paddock bought this house two years ago in this retirement community, and people are waking up to the shocking numbers that their neighbor is a suspect in a mass shooting. the neighbors we have spoken to today have said, they have never seen him before or spoken with him before this mass shooting so they don't want know much about him at this point. we are talking to the local police chief just to learn more information if they have any type of relationship or encounters with paddock. again, investigators have not told us what they have found inside that home, but we know that their search of it, paddock's house just wrapped up, george. >> thanks very much. >> can you imagine waking up and finding out your neighbor did something like this? all right. abc's linsey davis is at the hospitals where they brought some of the 400 people who were injured. good morning, linsey. >> reporter: good morning, robin. earlier today, we heard from a spokeswoman from this hospital and she said, look. we are trained for mass trauma,

yet they have never seen anything like this before. of the more than 400 people who are injured, 104 of them were admitted here. the ter frifying shots ringing ou out. >> all of a sudden, we heard the pop, and we thought it was fireworks so everybody just kept kind of standing there. >> reporter: concert-goers quickly learn the pops were not fireworks, but an active shooter's machine gun firing off. >> we were in the vip section. >> reporter: more than 50 dead, and more than 400 transported to hospitals. >> my other friend was praying over bodies that were dead, and it was just a horrible thing. >> reporter: one of those killed, an off-duty las vegas police officer there to watch the concert. two other officers injured in the line of duty. there to see the concert at this

country music festival when it was thrown into utter day ychao. >> it felt like it just continued for 20 minutes straight, and i wasn't sure if it was actually bullets until one of the times we paused our friend, like, the guy next to us, got shot. >> reporter: this video shows jason aldean fleeing the stage as shots rang out. concert-goers taking over, a stampede towards the exits of an open-air arena. >> everybody was slow to react, but once they did, it was pandemonium, and everybody running in every direction they knew how. >> reporter: those who made it outside, found everything to hide behind. >> hiding behind the cop cars. >> reporter: one woman became refugee for the wounded. >> there was a gentleman who was shot and she saihe said, can yo me? i had six people in my car.

people without shoes running just to get away. >> reporter: with emergency crews quickly arriving on the scene tending to the wounded, reports of victims fleeing on the las vegas airport runways. now a perimeter of police cars still remains in place outside of this hospital as well as other area hospitals. they are not letting anyone in unless you happen to work inside the hospital. they are still diverting family members, and the las vegas police are also asking for people to donate blood. george and robin? >> always something to keep in mind after something like this. and so many witnesses as you know, have been sharing their emotional stories. michelle schmidt and her friend, wendy, were both at the concert, and we had a chance to speak with them earlier. >> yeah. we do country music festivals all the time, and i have always had in the back of my mind that something like this would

happen. and what -- what we experienced was all of a sudden, these gunshots were going off. pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, very fast, and i said, what the -- is going on? and people just started running and yelling and screaming. it was very confusing. it was chaotic, scary. i called my husband and i told him that i loved him, and my little girl in case i didn't make it because we didn't know where they were. so we were just running and running, and we went to tanothe hotel, and we were told there was a shooter coming that way. there was a lot of bad information, so i got to my truck. i had a key and i got in, and i just drove the furthest away from the strip that i could. i picked up a grandma and a little girl, and the little girl

was just asking if she was going to die. she was scared. and two other people i picked up too. and we brought them to somebody's house. we were safe. >> doing all that you can in that moment to help other people, and we have heard that over and over again, and wendy, what was the situation like for you? >> well, we were just sitting in her boutique, and we heard a couple of pops and were wondering -- we didn't know that there would be fireworks, and then people just started screaming and running, a stampede. and saying, somebody is shooting. somebody is shooting. so she told me to run, and we got separated, and so the shots stopped and i had my son on the phone, and i looked back, and

i -- he started shooting again and i could see the flashes from the mandalay bay. i said, i see where it's coming. i see where it's coming. he said, get out. get out. i ran across the street to the tropicana where tons of other people were running as well, falling over, screaming for loved ones. some were carrying wounded people. some were on the ground. it was -- it was pretty horrific. it was -- i never thought i would experience something like this. >> no. nor should you or anyone. and michelle, you were slightly injured in getting away? >> yeah. i -- i got stampeded and i fell over a concrete barrier, but i haven't gone to the hospital because it's just swelling and there is a lot of trauma cases so i just don't want to go there. >> bless your heart. bless your heart. you said earlier -- you said in the back of your mind, you worried, like, something like

this would happen. why did you think this could happen? >> because i do these events, and the security that is for these events, it's not there. they -- they check your bags a minimum. granted, this one was in a hotel, but there is just such an opportunity for somebody to do this in such a mass crowd and kill so many people at one time, and it's just the perfect storm for something like this to happen. and it's -- i'm really rethinking of what i'm going to be doing because i don't want to do this anymore. i'm scared. >> all right. that's understandable. michelle and wendy, thank you. we're thinking of you, and everyone there. and we send you our love and our absolute best. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> there are a lot of people that will be rethinking the kind of events they attend. i want to go to cecilia vega, our senior white house

correspondent, and we're expecting to hear from the president shortly? >> reporter: in just over ten minutes, we're told the president will address the country about the shooting there in las vegas. it will happen in the diplomatic room. that's the same room we heard about the congressional baseball shooting in june. the reaction is coming in, george, all morning long. the president himself tweeting his condolences to those victims. former president obama tweeted his condolences, the first lady, melania trump has weighed in, and i want to pay attention to one tweet that came in from congresswoman, gabby giffords. she was shot herself she wrote she is heartbroken by the scene, and said, no person should endure the horror that las vegas has experienced. this is a grave tragedy for our nation. i want to turn it back here to the white house.

we have been talking all morning about the president's trip to puerto rico. we are told by a white house official, as of now, there is no change to the president's schedule as expected, but first, as we have been saying, he will address the nation here in a little over ten minutes. he finds himself in the same places past presidents have had to address, and this one, as we have been saying all morning, much different because it is the largest mass shooting in this country's history. >> we'll see what the president has to say, and we'll come back to you for that. >> we'll bring that to everybody live, and as you know, this is the worst mass shooting in american history. 49 people were killed in the orlando club massacre in june, 2016. 32 people were killed at virginia tech in 2007. 27 at sandy hook elementary school in 2012. there are the numbers. and now more than 50. more than 50 in las vegas. the fbi is on the scene in las vegas helping with the investigation, and our senior justice corporate, pierre

thomas, has the latest from d.c. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the fbi is on scene, and they are working closely with las vegas police. we are told the attorney general spoke with the sheriff in las vegas as well, also offering assistan assistance. law enforcement officials say it's a mystery, and they have checked their data bases looking for criminal information of note. looking for any ties to international terrorism as of this morning. they have not found any, but they emphasize it is early in the investigation. they are concerned that they have no clear indication of what the motive could be, robin and law enforcement officials also say they are taking note that these type of mass shootings are starting to occur with increasing frequency in the united states. of course, nothing of the scale we have seen today, robin. >> that's right. >> we're going to bring in brad garrett right now. you heard pierre say, no ties

yet for international terrorism. doesn't seem to fit that profile either. yet we have seen at least one website having isis claiming responsibility. >> right, and i'll be surprised if this is an isis-driven attack. when kenneth was reporting, one thi thing he said was important. the neighbors have not seen stephen. that's a big statement because mass shooters tend to isolate themselves because when you are isolated, you can further distort whatever you're going to do and justify your violent act, and so the idea that he may have secreted himself into his own residence and then, you know, eventually i think, thursday, maybe traveled to las vegas to sort of organize, plan and get his head into committing this act. so all of that, george, does go together, as far as what mass shooters typically do, and this guy because he is older, it's kind of like you're dealing with a mask of sanity that he looks

like he is okay. to most people he is okay, and clearly, he is not. >> looks okay on the outside, but the mind becomes a closed loop? >> yes. inside the mind, he is twisting, turning, becoming more angry, wants to get this rage out of him. basically he knows his life is about to be over if he commits this act, but he is determined to do it because it's going to make whatever point he wants to make. >> hard to know exactly what happened with the companion that was found overseas. i asked brian ross, what would lead authorities to conclude so quick she had nothing at all to do with this? >> i don't know. it sounds too quick to me. first of all, she is going to know a number of things about his mindset. which is extremely important. maybe what they are saying is they have no direct link to weapons purchased, conversations about committing a mass shooting. maybe those, but clearly from my

view, she is a vital source of intelligence in figuring this guy out. >> what kind of clues would you be looking at when you are trying to think of the right words here -- simply a crime, a mass murder, versus an act of domestic terror? >> she is going to know what he has been disappointed about, what he is angry about. that he has been isolated more if he drinks. maybe he is drinking more. basically paint a dark picture of him because that's where these people go. they go dark. they go dark and they isolate themselves. she can help with that, and it's those pieces of information if he has any friends at all. these people tend to cut themselves off from everyone. that could be of help. >> thank you very much. >> earlier we spoke with another person there at the concert and ran when he heard the gunshots.

>> hey, robin. i'll do my best. i can't even believe how many people were killed, but so i was sitting in the vip section, and it was right near the stage, and i heard a popping sound. i thought it was fireworks. i looked up in the sky, didn't see anything, and i was worried. jason aldean stopped singing and there was kind of a gap, and his song -- it was very surreal. i knew something was wrong, and then i heard shots fire, like, just -- just going off, like, they were right on top of us. so i ran -- i ran to the front of the aisle, laid facedown on the aluminum. i was pulling people down because i think a lot of folks didn't realize at that point that the shooting was taking place. they were still sitting up. and i have to tell you, when i was on that ground, that

shooting went on for -- it had to have been 20, 30 seconds. >> and you almost left early? >> there was a gap. >> you almost left the concert early? >> yeah. robin, it was so ironic. i was going to leave and take a 7:50 flight back to l.a. today, but what's to surreal about this is i'm on the 24th floor of the mandalay bay. i have the exact view of this lunatic that killed everybody, and i was looking out that window this afternoon, and i said to myself, this is so beautiful. i'm going to stay an extra night and not go back, and then i go, and people are massacred because of that same view that i saw. >> and i know that you were thinking of your daughter. >> yeah. so i have an 11-year-old daughter, and what happened, robin, is after the first round

of shooting, i ran down the steps. then they -- a gentleman screamed, get in this room, because we were in open fire then. we were running north, but we were right next to las vegas boulevard. i go into this room. it was like a little -- like a little production area, and the hardest moment for me is, like, i saw six young women. they were maybe 20, 22. they were all crying on the ground. i was trying to be calm, but i thought more -- at the moment, i thought of the orlando shooting because we were in this room and we didn't know where he was. we thought he was going to jump the fence and come and shoot us all. i didn't know whether that was the right sddecision so i'm

thinking, like, am i going to die in this room? then the shooting stopped. i peeked out the front of the door. i peeked my head out. police officers screamed go, go! i rallied everybody out of that room and we ran toward the back -- further back of the venue. and that's where i saw two people shot and then i found out an hour ago from the couple next to me, the young woman in the -- there was a fence in front of the vip section, the young woman was killed in the generaled admission section right in front of us, so go figure. >> you can't figure something like this, brian, and i'm sure you brought those young women more comfort than you could ever imagine. >> i really tried, robin. i felt like i had to do something. i had to rise above it and i said, these girls aren't going to die. i'm not going to die. i need to get back to see my

daughter. this is not happening. not happening. >> we're fwlglad those and you around you were okay. thank you. >> dealing with so much trauma. we're coming up on 10:30 in the east right now. the coverage of the deadly mass shooting, deadliest in las vegas that unfolded. shortly after 10:00 western time in las vegas last night, the shooter in the mandalay bay hotel, shooting from the 32nd floor. that was the window he shot through. the windows don't happen. 4:30, 2 1/2 rounds, and the scene at that concerts just terrifying. >> every time you see the video, george, it's terrifying. those moments -- that gunfire rang out and that was just when jason aldean was on the stage. take a listen. he continued to perform because not knowing what was happening.

many people thought it was part of the performances but this is what we do know. more than 50 people have been killed. more than 400 injured. the shooter has been identified as 64-year-old stephen paddock. he is now dead, and police believe he acted alone. >> he likely killed himself as they breached. that's what they believe as they breached the room. we're going to go to cecilia vega at the white house expecting to hear from the president at any moment. >> he is expected to speak at about 10:30 eastern time, and this is the first time he'll address the nation on camera. of course, he put out a tweet offering condolences to the victims. we were told this morning he had been briefed and was following these events closely. as we have been saying all morning, this was a different position this president has been in. all recent presidents and past presidents have had to address the nations because of mass shootings under their watch, and this one is different for this president because never before

in the history -- did this country have so many people been injured and killed in the event like the one we are seeing in las vegas. of course now with that comes this debate, and will come this debate here in washington about gun control. already right now, the house could decide soon on a measure that would make it easier to buy silencers. this is a very controversial measure proposed by a republican member from south carolina. we are told that it is the -- the goal of this measure is to help protect the hearing of hunters. critics say it will make it harder to detect where the shooter is coming from during a mass casualty event like the one we have seen in las vegas. the politics comes with this. hillary clinton is weighing in this morning, blaming and calling out the nra for a measure like this, so this is certainly something president trump will have to address this issue of gun control. as we often see presidents have to deal with in the week of the shootings. any minute from here in the

white house, president trump will address the nation. this will take place in the diplomatic room. the same place, that same room he had to address the nation just a few months ago back in june in the wake of the shooting during the congressional baseball practice. >> we'll see if he has new details. thanks very much. >> all this began about 10:08 local time, and now you see matt gutman. you have been on the scene all night and all morning and people are just heading back to work. >> reporter: yeah. it seems like finally traffic is kind of opening up. the strip hotels are now out of that lockdown. people are allowed back into the mandalay bay as of a couple of minutes ago. you can see terrific building up. there is a massive police presence here, and we have stopped seeing the ambulances flying by. that only ended five hours after the shooting, but i want to talk about the shooter's brother. we had a phone conversation with him earlier this morning.

abc got him on the phone. he said an asteroid fell on them, and the family is dumb struck and they didn't know that stephen paddock had this in him, and when authorities drill into his life, they will find nothing. his companion, the woman we believe to be his gift, marilou danley, she is just a nice lady. never thought that either of them had this in them saying that the family is dumbstruck by the news that stephen paddock committed worst mass killing in american history. injuring over 400 and throwing a city like las vegas into absolute trauma, robin. >> all right. and often times we hear that the family members say something similar. they had no idea. the president is about to speak and we'll be right back. proof. proof of less joint pain and clearer skin.

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we are still standing by for the president's speech, and he will in just a moment. we're here with dan brown, and also dan abrams is here. and the former chief of the new york police is here. when you see what has hanppened with them -- dan, i'll start with you. what have you learned? >> what's interesting is he is part of a retirement community. that's interesting. but just as importantly is that as they were going into that house, in fact, before they went into that house, they evacuated

three homes around his home. why? because they are worried about b booby traps. they are worried if and when authorities went in there, they were worried they would explode. that was not the case, but all the precautions being taken care of before going to home. >> the police were moving pretty quickly. >> the police moved quickly. you have to move quickly in a situation like this, and like dan said, they are looking for any bit of information that can indicate motive. what groups did he belong to? clubs, that sort of thing. does he have a lot of practice in shooting? so much we don't know about this individual, but again, i believe that we're going to see some strange behavior. we always do when we drill down on people like this. >> david brown, do you agree that we're going to -- what ray is saying right now? >> yes.

exactly, and i would just like to just take this away from all the police response. it's been extraordinary, even though we have had this extreme loss of life. the most in u.s. history, the police response has been extraordinary. to figure out where this apartment was and be on point of going to the home and realizing that it might be booby trapped and trying to track down the female associate that he had, and then just the work that's being done now is extraordinary police work, and my hats go off to the las vegas law enforcement community for their response. even though their conscious has been shocked, but they are doing the work, and in the next coming days, they will not shut down the investigation. it will be continuing on for several days until they figure out what this guy's story is, and figure out how we can prevent it in the future.

>> cecilia mentioned the debate over gun control would get kicked up again. one of the things determined is were these weapons obtained legally, illegally, or modified to make them illegal? >> automatic weapons for, you know, personal use, meaning not at a range or something like that, is illegal in this country. basically across the board. there are a few exceptions, but bottom line is almost across the board. this seems like a case like there were automatic weapons. you can reconfigure a weapon to make it fire automatically. they will look at how did he get the weapons? where did he get the weapons? that's not a debate on gun control on the whole, but an investigation into the crime. >> president trump speaking in just a moment. we'll be right back. ? watch me. ♪

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and we are back here on "gma." live coverage across the country on that deadly shooting in las vegas. early this morning, i spoke with jake owen who was performing at the festival, who witnessed the shooting. jake, what can you tell us? >> it was wild. i was on the stage actually watching jason play. i had just come off the stage previously, and, you know, standing there, you can hear the bullets start to hit the roof of the stage, and people started fleeing everywhere.

you hear people screaming. at that point, the only way to go is just wherever you -- it sounded like gunshots were coming from all around us, and this is before any of us knew it was coming from above. it's -- it was chaotic. i keep saying it was, like, a bad movie that you have seen before, but never thought it would be real life. >> you were actually right on the stage? >> i was on the stage watching jason. jason turned around and started running back toward the riser to get out of the way once he realized that gunshots were being fired. the crowd started running. it was a -- it was a bad scene. people were literally being shot. you could see blood everywhere. it was something that i don't ever, you know, wouldn't want to ever see again or wouldn't want anyone else to see. >> and it seemed like jason played for a couple of minutes and then he dropped the guitar and ran off stage.

>> i think what a lot of people don't understand sometimes is when we're up there playing, we have the in-ear monitors so we can hear oeeach other, and i dot think he heard the shots and someone in his crew said, you need to get back here. he started and started running. we were all not knowing what to do. >> we're glad you are okay, jake. jake, thank you. one of the many performers on the stage last night. one of thousands at that concert. 20,000 at the concert. president trump is about to speak at the white house in the diplomatic room of the white house. he of course, has been briefed this morning on the incident. he has expressed his condolence on twitter to the families. 400 injured, and this is now the deadliest mass shooting in american history. the president will be coming out to speak with what he knows.

and words we presume of comfort for this country. >> this is where he spoke about the congressional baseball field. >> the congressional softball practice back in june. steve scalise was badly injured in that return to capitol hill. so many lives upended though after that shooting in las vegas. hard to imagine the scope of this killing. all the hospitals in las vegas right now dealing with trauma. 50 dead with 400 injured. cecilia vega at the white house, as we keep our eye on the podium, cecilia, talk about who the president has spoken with this more. >> reporter: we know he has been briefed and that happened very early on, and that he and this administration are monitoring this closely. we know that the white house members of this administration have been in touch with officials. as have members on capitol hill, been in touch with state and local officials there in las vegas. as we await that shot -- we see that shot of the diplomatic room

in the white house where the president will be speaking, you know, george, you said it. presumab presumably, this is a president who will offer words of comfort. these are moments that form presidencies in this country. this is a role that now president trump will be thrust to the counselor in chief. we all think back to president obama in the wake of that sandy hook shooting where he was teary-eyed in talking about the 26 people, the 20 children who were killed in that shooting and he spoke repeatedly about it being the most difficult day in his presidency in office. we're looking for president trump to offer unifying words. many would say he has struggled with at times of crisis and challenge. there is a president who has often offered divisive comments and people will be looking to this white house for words of comfort. for words of unity. for words of consolation to those victims and those families

and those rescue workers who are still very actively in that crime scene. george, i can tell you -- there's the president, george. >> coming in right now, president trump. thank you. my fellow americans, we are joined together today in sadness, shock and grief. last night, a gunman opened fire on a large crowd at a country music concert in las vegas, nevada. he brutally murdered more than 50 people, and wounded hundreds more. it was an act of pure evil. the fbi and the department of homeland security are working closely with local authorities to assist with the investigation, and they will

provide updates as to the investigation and how it develops. i want to thank the las vegas metropolitan police department, and all of the first responders for their courageous efforts and for helping to save the lives of so many. the speed with which they acted is miraculous. and prevented further loss of life. to have found the shooter so quickly after the first shots were fired is something for which we will always be thankful and grateful. it shows what true professionalism is all about. hundreds of our fellow citizens are now mourning the sudden loss of a loved one, a parent, a child, a brother or sister. we cannot fathom their pain. we cannot imagine their loss.

to the families of the victims, we are praying for you and we are here for you, and we ask god to help see you through this very dark period. scripture teaches us the lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. we seek comfort in those words for we know that god lives in the hearts after those who grieve. to the wounded who are now recovering in hospitals, we are praying for your full and speedy recove recovery, and pledge to you, our support from this day forward. in memory of the fallen, i have directed that our great flag be flown at half staff. i will be visiting las vegas on wednesday to meet with law enforcement, first responders and the families of the victims.

in moments of tragedy and hor r horror, america comes together as one. and it always has. we call upon the bonds that unite us. our faith, our family and our shared values. we call upon the bonds of citizenship, the ties of community and the comfort of our common humanity. our unity cannot be shattered by evil. our bonds cannot be broken by violence, and those we feel such great anger at the senseless murder of our fell he citizens, it is our love that defines us today. it always will, forever. in times such as these, i know we are searching for some kind of meaning in the chaos, some kind of light in the darkness.

the answers do not come easy. but we can take solace knowing that even the darkest space can be brightened by a single light and even the most terrible despair can be illuminated by a single ray of hope. melania and i are praying for every american who has been hurt, wounded or lost, the ones they love so dearly in this terrible, terrible attack. we pray for the entire nation to find unity and peace, and we pray for the day when evil is banished and the innocent are safe from hatred and from fear. may god bless the souls of the lives that are lost. may god give us the grace of healing and may god provide the grieving families with strength to carry on.

thank you. god bless america. thank you. >> president trump, a somber president trump striking a note of unity there in the diplomatic room of the white house in the wake of an act he called pure evil. he said at times like these, the nation comes together as one. the president also citing scripture saying the lord is close to the broken-hearted and god lives in the hearts of those who grieve. robin, the president there, consoling words for the families. encouraging words for the first responders and saying he will visit them. >> going on wednesday to visit with them, the families and first responders and praising the police there. and many share and echo those sentiments knowing in 4:30 they were able to determine the location of the shooter. >> cecilia vega, the president also saying flags at the white house will be flown at half staff. the speaker of the house has

ordered the cabinet flags also. the president wanted to be seen as a president of all the people in the wake of this tragedy. >> reporter: very much so, george. words of comfort from president trump here this morning as those flags that you mentioned, you can't see them, flying behind me at flag staff. he used the words, sadness, shock and grief, and that is the tone coming out of this white house. he said to the victims in this shooting, that we are praying for you, we are here for you, and he quoted scripture, saying got lives in the hearts of those who grieve. in moments of tragedy and horror, america comes together he says, as we all as a country, search for meaning in this chaos. this is a president who at times, many would say has struggled to strike that tone of unity in times of dchaos and tragedy, and he seems to have hit that today. though now as he walked away

from that podium, you know, he is the president, who is presiding unfortunately over the most horrific in terms of numbers, mass shooting in this country's history. a very sad day here. a very sad day for this white house. we are told he is following the updates closely. we may hear from him again. he has a busy day at the white house. he is meeting the prime minister of thooiailand, and we may hear from him again later. >> he is going to las vegas on wednesday. he was asked, are you going to puerto rico tomorrow? your reporting is that trip will go on. >> reporter: at this point, george, that's what we're hearing that his schedule as planned has not changed and his plan is to go to puerto rico tomorrow. we broke the news here during the address to the nation he'll go to las vegas on wednesday. i caution in covering in white house, anything can happen, and

anything can change, but his schedule stands and he is going to puerto rico tomorrow. >> let's get now to pierre thomas. pierre? >> reporter: robin, george, this situation is being dealt with at the highest levels of federal law enforcement. the attorney general has met with the fbi director. homeland security secretary is involved as well. they are trying to get additional details. the key right now is to determine the motive. so far, there is nothing in the federal data bases that will suggest a motivmotive. nothing tying the suspect to international terrorism. no major criminal background they can determine. they are at a mystery -- they are at a loss to determine why this took place. we are also hearing this arsenal in the hotel room will exceed ten rifles, that there are more than ten rifles, weapons in that room. law enforcement officials, again, say the time is now to dissect this man's background,

exploit phones and whatever was uncovered at his pohome. and talk to friends and associates because they need to know why. >> i guess we'll find out when we see the surveillance footage. you can imagine someone seeing a gun smuggled in. but more than ten? >> i have been talking to sources about that today. they said, look. when you are coming back and forth from a hotel, no one is checking your bags. no one is checking a suitcase you might have. it is completely possible not open society that we have where people are coming and going all the time, that this could have happened, george. >> just incredible. okay, pierre thomas. thanks very much. we are live on the scene of the deadly shooting and we will be live all morning long. we will stay live here on "good morning america" and across the country. this is the deadliest mass shooting in american history. more than 50 dead, more than 400 injured. we heard from the president

hearing from the police officials again in las vegas over the next hour. much more coming up on abc news and "good morning america." good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. breaking news. deadly rampage in las vegas. mass shooting at a country music festival. a lone shooter opening fire right above jason aldean's concert. out the window of a mandalay bay hotel room, firing for 4:30. >> they just kept going and going. >> more than 50 people dead, over 200 injured. mass panic erupting on the strip as thousands of concert-goers run for their lives. we hear from the eyewitnesss who were right there. >> i heard it just going nonstop. >> the deadliest mass shooting in american history. our team bringing you the latest

live from las vegas this morning. and we do say good morning, america in such a difficult way to begin the new week. live across the country, the tragic news, the deadliest shooting in american history. that is when it all unfolded. that is the hotel room where the shooter from the 32nd floor, where it all unfolded. unloading on that country music festival in las vegas last night. >> 200 rounds in more than 4:30. president trump just spoke from the diplomatic room in the white house and called this an act of pure evil, and ordered the flags of the white house to fly at half staff, and he said he will be visiting with the families of victims on wednesday. here's what he said. more. than 50 people killed, and more than 400 injured. the shooter has been identified. 64-year-old stephen paddock.

he apparently killed himself as police approached the room, and police believe he is the only attacker. >> we are live all morning long across the country. let's go to our matt gutman on the scene right after this happened. he is outside the mandalay bay hotel, and he has the latest. good morning, matt. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the sight of that video and the sound of those people screaming and gunfire is chilling. what was most palpable was the sense of fear as paddock was pouring gunfire down on those 22,000 concert-goers, and there was terror. to a person, every eyewitness we spoke to felt their lives were in jeopardy. terror in carnage exploding on the las vegas strip in what has now become the deadliest mass shooting in u.s. history. just after 10:00 p.m. local time, a hail of gunfire raining down from the 32nd floor of the

mandalay bay hotel, from the window seen here. inside the room, more than ten rifles. the shooter now identified as 64-year-old stephen paddock of mesqui mesquite, nevada. his target, 22,000 people attending a jason aldean concert. people bursting out into the runway of the bordering las vegas airport, taking shelter wherever they could. they carried the victims by pickup truck, and using a barricade as a makeshift stretcher. someone died in your arms? >> we were getting him in an ambulance, and i was carrying him over there, and he passed away. so -- it's been a crazy night. >> reporter: more than 50 dead and more than 400 wounded. authorities saying paddock acted alone, calling it a lone wolf attack. it was confirmed he was dead in

a hotel room. >> everyone in the hallway needs to move back. all units move back. >> breach, breach, breach. >> reporter: authorities are saying they have located marilou danley, a 62-year-old asian woman, and companion of the shooter. she was not an accomplice, and the police do not believe she had anything to do with the shooting. amidst, the savagery and evil we saw, so much heroism of boyfriends and loved ones covering the bodies of loved ones and friends plugging the bullet holes. hauling people over fences and trying to protect them under the stage. everywhere, people trying to sacrifice even their own bodies to protect the wounded, robin, george. >> it was amazing. >> certainly was. let's go back to cecilia vega at the white house. we just heard from the president moments ago, and now we know he is visiting las vegas on wednesday. >> that's right, george.

and pardon me. we have also learned he has ordered flags to fly at half staff at all federal buildings across the country, and that starts right here at the white house where the flag on the building is at half staff here. he wrapped up the brief comments public about four minutes long, where he said the shooting is an act of pure evil. take a listen. >> hundreds of our fellow citizens are now mourning the sudden loss of a loved one, a parent, a child, a brother or sister. we cannot fathom their pain. we cannot imagine their loss. to the families of the victims, we are praying for you, and we are here for you, and we ask god to help see you through this very dark period. >> reporter: the president says in moments of tragedy and horror like this, america comes together in times of chaos as

the nation searches for meaning and answers in the midst of these questions out there. he is offering clearly words of comfort and unity, speaking to those victims as well as his first responders who are out there in las vegas working through this scene. as we mentioned at the beginning here, he is going to las vegas on wednesday. he just told us that in that address to the nation, and we are told that trip to puerto rico at this point is still on for tomorrow. >> thanks very much. >> and brian, you're learning more about the shooter? >> absolutely. we know more about him, but less about the motive behind the evil he carried out. this is a photo of stephen paddo paddock, posted by his companion on her facebook page. authorities this morning sought her, located her outside the country and concluded she had no role at all in the shooting. authorities have also been in contact with paddock's brother, eric, who talked to abc news about marilou danley.

>> i think she was -- worked in a hotel or something. >> the mandalay bay? >> i don't even know for sure. >> the brother also told us he had no idea of any problems in his brother's background that would lead to this shooting. >> we have been working with the las vegas pd all morning. anything we can do to help. he has no affiliation with anything as far as we know. >> and as best we can tell, no criminal record, no contact whatsoever with law enforcement that would lead them to think he has a motive, and no grievance. he once worked as an accountant. he had a pilot's license, hunting license, and worked at another hotel, and had a lawsuit. >> he was a wealthy man. >> had several homes and worked at an apartment complex, and ended up in this retirement complex in mesquite, nevada. >> aren't these weapons he used

$50,000, $60,000? >> they could be converted. we know according to his brother, he was a regular at las vegas casinos. >> we know that. thanks very much. let's get to kenneth moton no you. he is on the scene now. good morning, kenneth. >> reporter: good morning, robin. new information in. mesquite police wanted to say that the search of stephen paddock's home will be co paddock's home will be completed. they wanted to clear it for any potential booby traps behind me here, but they say the fbi has not b proceprocessed that house evidence. police arrived in the early morning hours after this mass shooting and ripped off the garage door to make entrance to search that home to execute that search warrant. again, the fbi is arriving on the scene here in mesquite to process this scene for the evidence. we understand found inside,

weapons and ammunition. we have also confirmed that paddock lived here with that person of interest, that marilou danley in the retirement community. local and federal authorities will be on the scene throughout the day, securing this area and that house. george and robin? >> thanks very much. we want to go back to linsey dav davis. she is at the university medical center where they have been treating people all morning long. >> reporter: this hospital is trained for this kind of thing, but never had to implement it on such a large scalep. this is the only level one trauma center in the state. which might explain of the 400 people injured, 104 of them were admitted to this hospital. many of them have been discharged. there are updates. 12 people were in critical condition. and that 8 people went right into the operating room. we are looking to get status updates on them.

we know that this hospital only has 18 beds in the icu. at the same time, they have opened the road up so there is now traffic going in, and -- but now you can only access the hospital if you are a doctor or if you are staff here at the hospital. they are still mandating i.d.s, and i talked to a police officer, and he said, don't expect that to change any time soon and they want to get that message out for family members not to come here. >> to be clear, they are not allowed family members to enter the hospital? >> reporter: they are still not allowing family members. exactly. >> thank you, linsey. we'll have much more of our live coverage when we come back. liberty mutual stood with me when this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night. hold on dad... liberty did what? yeah, liberty mutual 24-hour roadside assistance helped him to fix his flat so he could get home safely. my dad says our insurance doesn't have that.

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back here on "gma," we continue to be live across the country bringing you the latest on what happened in las vegas last night. the shooter killing more than 50 people, injuring more than 400. the gunman is 64-year-old man, opened fire on 22,000 people as they gathered for a country music festival. >> jasmine joins us now. she is on facetime with us. she has gotten away from las vegas right now. jasmine, thank you for joining us right now. i know you were there at the moment this all unfolded. tell us what you saw. >> so jason aldean was on at the time. the music was really, really loud. when we started hearing the gunshots, we thought it was fireworks. then we heard the gunshots again, and that's when jason aldean stopped singing. we all looked at each other, like, that was not a firework,

and in that moment, the gunshots came on again. we heard a lot of echoing and didn't know where they were coming from, who had the gun. we got town, and didn't know where to go, what to do. in that case, everybody was just screaming, trying to find a way to fit, get down. we were all standing up pretty straight and packed in, so when it was time to get town, we fell on top of each other. when the gunshots went off again, that's when we just took off. we didn't know which way we just went to the nearest exit or nearest wall. unfortunately the people that went the opposite direction of me went towards where the gunman was, and they were hit far worse. when my friend and i were trying to run away, we got to a wall. since we were at a festival, it's barricaded with fences and walls and it's hard to get out,

so we were tearing down walls, trying to climb. there was a lot of men trying to pretty much throw the women over the fences, trying to help the women escape first. when we were able to climb over, we just started running. all you heard was just gunshots and every time the gunshots would come down, you started getting to the ground, and you would try to climb the fence again. we made it over, and we were running through the parking lot. everybody just ran through the streets. there was cars and policemen. >> we might have lost the connection there with jasmine who was describing the yay ycha. do we have her back now? >> yeah. i'm here. >> you were describing you said you saw real heroism. >> yeah. it was pretty intense. in may moment, i'm thinking, i got to get out of here. i'm going to be dead in five

seconds. for a man to stand there and be the only man, and helping all the women get down, and helping women climb. he is doing everything, and there were men going over their wives and girlfriends to black th block them. unfortunately those men got shot. there were lives saved. i wasn't the one doing it, but i don't know who the man was, but there was a man who probably saved a good 20 women's lives and he was brave. >> the bullets were coming close to you. >> they were right behind -- none of us knew if it was going to hit us or not. how i didn't get shot by the grace of god, i honestly -- i don't know. we ran -- i don't know. we ran. we climbed. >> i know how hard it is. how hard it has to be for you to live those moments. i know these images you can't get out of your head right now, jasmine.

thank goodness you're okay, and you have escaped this. how long did it take you to get out of there? >> it felt like forever. we couldn't get over the fences. they wouldn't come down. we finally got to a brick wall, and most of us women are wearing shorts and we're trying to climb this brick wall 4 feet higher than us, trying to get this. we're getting scraped up, and we're just fight or flight mode kicked in, and you just go. the gunshot any moment. when i looked back, i was running and i looked back and you see people laying out on the floor andyou just go. nothing is stopping you. >> have you been able to -- >> no. i don't know. not yet. i don't want to talk to them over the phone. i'm going to wait until i get home to see them and talk to them. i don't think i would be strong enough. they wouldn't understand why

mommy is crying, you know? so i think it's best to wait until i get home. >> give them a hug. >> you tell them that they have a strong mom. they have a very strong mom. what you have endured. >> a lucky mom. >> by the grace of god. thank you, jasmine. we're praying for you. >> no problem. thank you. >> it gets to you when you are hearing what these people have been going through. it happened just shortly after 10:00 p.m. local time there in las vegas. i don't know what it was -- i mean, we have heard these stories after stories, but it was something about her and knowing that her family didn't know anything about her, and to hear her talk about how people were so unselfish, george. >> giving up their lives. >> and people they didn't even know to try to help them as much as they could, and we're getting -- we're hearing from so many people, aren't we? >> a tear-jerker to hear her talk about wanting to speak to her kids in person because it's traumatic and hard to imagine.

so many people wiare weighing i around the world. an outpouring of support, and the music world stunned. the route 91 harvest festival was intended to be a celebration of country music in the heart of las vegas, but we know now that community reeling. >> reporter: overnight, tragedy striking the route 91 concert festival. a lone gunman opening fire on the soldout crowd in las vegas. the reactions on social media began pouring in from the stars featured in that event. jason aldean performing on stage when those fateful shots began. just minutes before his performance, aldean talking about lhis excitement. >> we're looking forward to it being a good night for sure. >> reporter: afterwards, jason posting, tonight has been beyond horrific. it hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night.

performer nick miller, watching it unfold from the crowd. >> we thought it was fireworks and then it was continuous machine gunfire. >> reporter: jake owen who was on stage just before aldean, gunshots, pray to god. then this. i witnessed the most unimaginable event tonight. we are okay. others aren't. please pray. mariah carey saying, my thoughts are with the families of the fi victims. earlier this year, a suicide bomber detonating explosives in manchester, aengland killing 22 and injuring 116 others. and this attack in front of a soldout crowd in paris. the gunman trapping people in the concert hall. words of support growing by the moment. tailer swift just tweeting this.

there are no words to express the helplessness and sorrow my broken heart feels for the victims and their families. rihanna calling it an act of terror, and for the residents and visitors of las vegas, this was a horrific act of terror. lin-manuel miranda saying he is heartbroken by the numbers out of las vegas praying for those of us waiting for news from these listening to music in las vegas. there were 22,000 people on the strip. there to have a good time, and it's unspeakable. how this changed. >> people try to turn a night of joy into a night of terror. >> it's hard to imagine that it keeps happening. >> i know. i know. when will it end? that's what you keep hearing on twitter. when will it end? the fbi is on the scene there in las vegas as you can imagine assisting with the investigation. pierre thomas has the latest on

that. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the fbi is assisting going through the crime scene, and they will be in charge of the forensics and gathering the evidence. the data base has been checked so far, and nothing showing any type of motive. nothing showing a tie to international terrorism at this point. no major criminal background that has been determined at this point. law enforcement officials deeply concerned about this because they need to understand the motive to understand the why. but robin, i can tell you and george this. guns in this country, and we're not going to make this a political issue, but here are some facts. so far this year, more than 11,652 people have died in gun-related incidents. there have been more than 46,000 gun-related incidents and also 273 mass shootings so far in which four or more people were shotted. >> 273. what a number that is. pierre thomas, thanks very much.

let's bring in former fbi special agent, brad garrett, for more on this. and brad, we learned a short while ago from the police not ten rycheifles in that hotel ro but more. >> that lets you know, george, he was determined to commit the mass casualty that he ultimately did do. and it was like the following. i'm going to keep shooting until either i run out of ammunition or they come in and kill me. my guess is we have had a lot bigger count of people killed and injured if, in fact, the s.w.a.t. team hadn't gotten in there so quickly. >> they got there in about 4:30. it seems clear given the number of weapons he had what he was doing was emptying the cartridges and throwing the rifle down and picking up a new one. >> as we talked a few hours ago, that makes more sense to me. there was not enough time between the shooting unless he

is really good at reloading for it to pick up. you drop a weapon, grab another one. it takes no time at all. >> and brad, we don't know a lot yet about him, but from what we know, the police know no criminal record or ties to international terrorism. >> and i think you go to his age. he is in his mid 60s and appears he doesn't have any connection to extremist groups. this is about revenge in his head that maybe no one else but him knows about. >> we are continuing our live coverage, and we'll take a short break for local news and weather. for some stations, our live coverage will continue in just a minute. we'll be right back.

we started off-quietly and then several crashes to get around. toll plaza starting to thin out on the left-hand side. you can see bright sunshine. definitely grab your sunglasses. one of the tough spots to the maze in the red at 51 minutes recovering from three earlier issues. all lanes are back open. westbound 80 once you make it through the toll booths through san francisco looks great at 12 minutes. minutes. you are in the yellow at 20 you can't have this frenchie. minutes. you are in the yellow at 20 sam just snagged it from homegoods. it reminds him of bennie. only quieter. you can't have this frenchie. but new finds are always arriving.

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now your accuweather forecast with mike nicco. >> a gorgeous morning unfolding. we have high fire danger through tomorrow. breezes relax and warming trend wednesday and reaches our beaches by the weekend. until 5:00 tomorrow evening up in the north bay, 11:00 this evening. that's where the highest fire danger is. temperatures from 55 in haward to 66 right now. on our way to say upper 70s to low 80s inland. mid to upper 60s at the coast. thanks.

we will have another abc 7 news update in about 30 minutes and continuing our live coverage across the country as wefollow the devastating shooting in las vegas, and that's where it happened from that 32nd floor of the mandalay bay hotel. where a gunman opened fire on a country music festival, shooting at concert-goers. >> 22,000 were there, and he had more than ten rifles in that room. apparently killed himself as police came to the door. jason aldean on stage at the festival. no one was quite sure what was going on at first, and they heard gunshots and thought they might have been fireworks. within seconds, it was clear panic, pandemonium on the scene. people running in every direction. so many feeling trapped in that moment, and so many killed and wounded. more than 50 dead.

more than 400 injured as we have been saying. the deadliest mass shooting in american history. what we know about the shat sho shooter, he was on the 32nd floor, stephen paddock. that's a picture of him right there. police found him as they went into the room, believe he acted alone, know he shot himself as they approached the room as well. so far, no criminal record, but that was the scene. he blew through the windows, shot for 4:30, 200 rounds. mar than 200 rounds finding their targets. police have no indication yet of the motive for stephen paddock. that is what they are trying to pin down right now. that's his home in nevada just about an hour outside of las vegas. i want to bring in matt gutman. the search has been completed at that home. las vegas stabilized now, but a city, matt, still in shock. >> reporter: completely in shock, george. you can see the traffic is

finally starting to open up, and it is about nine hours after the attack. it took that long for the las vegas strip -- the famed strip to finally open up, and you mention that gunfire pouring down into those 22,000 concert-goers and what is most astounding is we almost never hear of automatic gunfire being used in attacks like these. it is almost always semiautomatic and you can hear that tack tack tack tack tack. that repetition of automatic gunfi gunfire, and what we are talking about here is the caliber of the bullets. they were able to go down from 32 floors. it was well over 200 yards away. that is a long shot for an assault rifle where a medium shot, it is unclear at what he was aiming. it is possible he didn't really need to aim. just raining gunfire down on those innocent concert-goers below, and as we talk about the trauma that this city that has suffered, it's also worth

talking about who these concert-goers were. it's a complete cross section of america from nevada to las vegas, and we spoke to a man from australia. everybody reveling in this sliver of my mer kamer kau in a country music and everything that goes with it. there is an outpouring of bravery. people covering their loved ones with their bodies, trying to get them over fences. driving them out of harm's way, even as the gunfire rang out. creating makeshift triage centers and you might see this video right now which is one of the things that has astounded me most, george and robin. watching the ingenuity of people in this chaotic moment, as the pandemonium ensues, using the barricades as stretchers, trying to get people out of harm's way, and one of the criminal issues was that we see a lot of tall buildings here in las vegas, and what happens, there was a canyon

effect, and that created a sense of chaos for first responders and law enforcement trying to get back to the place where they thought the shooting was happening. also for the people on the ground, and that slowed medical assistance to the people who needed it. so people had to set up their own triage centers. we spoke to a man earlier today. you did as well, who was in a truck, a flat bed truck. eight people on the back of that truck, bleeding. one of them dying on the way to this very spot as they were trying to get them medical assistance, and that might be one of the reasons that that death toll is so astoundedingly high here. people just couldn't get out, and horrifically and heartbreakingly, they just died on the way. they bled out as they were led to safety here. george and robin? >> oh, my gosh. thank you, matt. because remember also what they have been saying, being in that son certificate like that, they were pinned in. >> lots of barricades. >> and they were able to use those barricades as matt said to help in the end, but it prevents

people from being able to get out, and over 400 injured and they were sent to hospitals in the las vegas area. and linsey davis has been there for us all morning long. but pierre thomas as well, our -- just tell us what you have been able to determine so far at this hour, pierre. >> reporter: again, law enforcement officials have been checking all the data bases they have. they have a massive amount of data bases. they look for criminal activity. they look for in terribms of te and ties to overseas groups. so far, nothing significant is what i'm being told over and over by sources. they are deeply concerned about that because they want answers and they need to know why that man went to the hotel and mowed down people in the most cold-blooded fashion, and law enforcement officials say the attorney general and fbi director have been in communication as have homeland security officials. this is the top law enforcement

priority at the moment. >> many in search of answers. >> we have linsey davis right now outside of the university hospital in las vegas. linsey? >> reporter: yeah, george. police asked for people to donate blood, and they are getting an overwhelming response. we are hearing that hundreds of people are lined up at the blood services building here, that there is a line wrapped around the building. we just spoke to a police officer who said, hey. let people know. there are popup and emergency blood drives taking place all over this city, and people want the help. they want to do something to give of themselves in the face of this tragedy, and at the same time, we're trying to learn more about the victims. all we know at this point is that a lot of people are out on a sunday night trying to have a good time and listen to some country music. what we do know is of the two people injured, police officers, one of them critically injured, and one was off duty, and was

killed. >> stories beginning to come in right now. we're awaiting word of a press conference on the scene in las vegas. sheriff joseph lombardo has been on the scene, and they have been very transparent with the information so far, and we have learned a fair amount. the police believe that stephen paddock acted alone, and they believe he has no ties to international terrorism. >> they have really done a wonderful job of getting the information out to the public about what was going on. >> say whing what they know and what they don't, and there is a lot they don't. still no word on a motive. the sheriff will be joined by the representatives of the fbi and atf officials. let's listen in.

>> where's carlos? are we ready? kevin? you come up. well, good morning, everyone. for those that don't know, i am sheriff lombardo for clark county. i don't have very much more to update you with from our previous briefings. one thing in particular that has changed to the negative is our body count. that's the wong way to say it. the number of people that have died associated with this event has increased. we are using the number of 58 right now. i just was informed it may be 59 of an individual that may have expired at sunrise hospital. so in normal fashion, i do not to give you bad information, so please do not press me on that number until we get further into this investigation. the number of injured, we are

using the number of 515, and as you can tell, as the hours go by, that number continues to increase. we have not received any additional intelligence associated with the suspect. we have completed the search warrant in mesquite. i am not aware of any derogatory information that we can utilize to further this investigation at this point, but we have just recovered items and it will take a little while to evaluate that information. we have learned information of additional property in northern nevada, and the fbi has responded to the location, and we will be serving a search warrant here shortly. we have completed the investigation at the room. we have collected all the items associated with the suspect, and we are in the recovery phase of that. the mandalay bay itself has gone back to service minus the 32nd floor, and they would like

everybody advised that if they are separated from their hotel room, they have the ability to return to the hotel. now the location in question, the concert hall, we will be in a long process of body recovery out there in evidence recovery, and evidence documentation. so you're going to have to ask the public's patience, and as bring information forward, it's a long, laborious process to identify the victims and reunite them with the family members to advise them of their situation. so we still have the families responding to the las vegas metropolitan police department headquarters in order to conduct the reunification of their family or friends. eventually, in the next few hours -- actually, i don't want to give you a skewed time line,

but approximately 1:00 p.m., we'll request the family members to respond to the convention center area to utilize the larger space, and we can bring in the victim advocates to assist with the family members in the long-term. right now it's just a temporary phase with reunification. additionally, we are asking to solely utilize united blood service and umc as the only places to donate blood. we had resource issues associated with the laborer's clinic and i applaud their efforts, but we have resource issues. go the lvpd.com to find out where those are to get the life-saving blood for the victims with this. at this point, you can tell i have several individuals to my

rear that would like to make comment. reference the isis statement. i want to bring that up now so i give the opportunity to special agent raus to respond to that, from the fbi, and he'll explain what we know now as isis cla claiming the individual. thank you. >> good morning. as this event unfolds, we have determined to this point, no connection with an international terrorist group. as this investigation continues, we will continue to work with our partners tofactually, andfad investigated to bring comfort and peace back to this investigation. thank you. >> good morning. my name is ruben kihven. i just want to say thank you to law enforcement, and to all the

first responders who are now fighting fire and save lives. i stopped by sunrise hospital, and i saw a lot of the victims and a lot of the family members, but i also saw a lot of nurses and doctors that were working tirelessly to save lives, and today is a very sad day for nevada. it's a very sad day for las vegas, but if anything good came out of this, it's that i saw humanity. i saw our community come together. i saw strangers helping strangers and saving lives. i want to say thank you to the sheriff and to metro police, to firefighters to the doctors, the nurses and everybody who is working tirelessly to save lives at this precise moment. i know we're going to get through this, and our city will be stronger. thank you very much. >> i'm clark county district attorney, steve wolfson, and on

behalf of the d.a.'s office, our thoughts and prayers go out to everybody associated with this event. two of my prosecutors -- two of my young, female prosecutors were actually at this concert close to the stage. and i have spoken to both of them this morning, and they are pretty rattled. they are pretty shaken up. this was a horrific event to say the least, so this is a classic wmd. this is a weapon and a man of mass destruction. what i'm pleased so much about is how this doesn't involve politics in the sense of republican or democrat. we are here. all of us are nevadans and i'm proud to be helping and we have a leader to get through this. i want to thank the sheriff for your leadership in leading us through this terrible, terrible day.

thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, sheriff. i want to first off begin by thanking the sheriff. i got down here eight or nine hours ago, and there weren't many of us here. just a handful. i can tell you our first responders, both the men and women of the fire department and metro were on their way in when this all happened. we have first responders that are literally covered in blood. as a result of this, a lot of the victims have not been identified at this point. there was a sole shooter and no further threat we are aware of. i want to assure everyone who is listening that las vegas is safe. the men and women in mandalay bay and mgm resorts have been incredible in terms of communicating and working with the sheriff's office in order to assure us that everybody can be taken care of, and get back into the rooms and understand that we are safe and we are doing everything humanly possible to protect all our -- as tourists and citizens in clark county.

the sheriff and i have set up a gofundme account that you may have seen. we have been inundated with people asking what they can do. a lot of family members are going through an awful lot, and as the sheriff said, we have over 500 in our hospitals being treated and we have to provide them with some sort of support, so we have done that, and i can't say enough about the fine men and women that are our first responders here in clark county, and all of the city's jurisdictions pulled together. i thank the sourresources, and ask for your prayers. god bless you. >> i want to thank you all. i'm mayor carolyn goodman of this great city, and absolutely what commissioner sisolak had spoken to about great response

rapid thorough from first responders and law enforcement. i was late this morning with you all because i was over at umc and the trauma unit, and it's been a very, very difficult time for us. and as we look forward to continuing what our great city does, we offer a safe place. this is a crazed lunatic full of hate. we don't know much about his background, but it certainly is not an extension of what we believe in, what everybody who lives here and works here and those who visit here want to see. this is something that was simply outrageous, uncalled for and so many innocent people, young people, children, parents who have lost loved ones and so many still suffering in the hospitals gone through major surgery. we have some that were hit quite lightly with shrapnel as they were near the exits. it's been a hugely traumatic

time for all of us, and for our visitors who love country music, many of whom have come from the northern part of our states here, and just really came here for a wonderful, safe time. we pride ourselves in our law enforcement. they are so rapid to respond, so thorough in what they do, and our first responders have been simply phenomenal. it is a city and a community that has pulled together. everybody is working so hard to make sure that we are taking care of the needs of the families and those who have lost loved ones and it's just been a very, very traumatic time for everybody. the president gave a beautiful message, and he will be visiting us either sometime later today, tomorrow or wednesday. great concern, and we just know that the entire community -- i have so many mayors that have

called. governors who have called me personally to express their support, help and what we ask for is blood. that's the main thing right now is that if our people want to do something, and they are healthy, then please donate blood. we'll have plenty of banks available. always call a hospital if you are unsure where to go. so thank you very much. and i'm sorry. i didn't mean to step in front of you. >> you always go before me, mayor. it's a pleasure to follow you. thank you very much. i represent nevada's district one. it includes the fabulous las vegas strip including the mandalay bay where this horrendous act took place. so many times i welcome people to las vegas and all the excitement and entertainment and fun it has to offer. never thought i would be standing here trying to offer solace and my office assistance to victims of something like this that would happen.

all through the night, we were briefed by law enforcement. i thank you sheriff, and your team for all that you did, and the first responders. mainly we were trying to stay out of the way, because you don't want to turn a personal tragedy into a political event. today, my office will be giving blood as the mayor said. they appreciate your thoughts and prayers, but what they need is blood. we'll be open to do anything we can to assist, but, you know, i have just been hearing all these stories of heroism that occurred in the midst of this tragedy. you had off-duty police officers who were there just for the concert for an evening of fun who were able to help people get shelter and able to identify the location of the shooter. and just random strangers. a friend of some of my staff members who lives in the district said they were running and being trampled and someone opened a van door and pulled them inside for shelter and

safety. that's the kind of people we have here in las vegas. who are willing to reach out and help run anothone another, and all our law enforcement. first responders and those in the hospitals where people are in the halls and the parking lot, trying to take care of so many, and please call on our office if there is any way we can be of assistance. >> i'm adam laxalt, laxalt, lax to echo what a lot of people said today. i have been here since about 2:00 in the morning, and the job of the law enforcement, and first responders have done is just absolutely remarkable. we have never been hit with such a tough situation in this city, and to see the poise and the pressure that they are able to perform under was truly astou astounding. i believe that they are always going to be able to get us out of these situations.

our law enforcement will be able to step up to the plate when we need them most, and of course, the city and our state will bounce back. thank you very much. >> i just want to add one more thing before we have the governor come up. i have to ask you to do something else. when you see one of these men and women wearing a badge or members of our fire department, tell them thank you. their selfless actions saved the lives of hundreds of people. not a dozen people. hundreds of people. this death count would have been many hundred more were it not for the brave work of every one of these men and women that you see wear a badge, first responders and police department. i encourage all of you walking, next time you see one, just say thank you. >> appreciate that. >> good morning, ladies and

i'm governor sandoval. i don't know if i have words to describe what we're going through, and what these poor and unfortunate victims are going through. we're angry, grieving, confused. people are hurting. i want to thank the sheriff and all the first responders. i just had an opportunity to visit some of the patients in the hospital, and it's unimaginable what people are going through right now. you have got family members who are here and don't have anyone to reach out to. but the first responders and what they have done, it's their finest hour. their finest hour. in the way that the sheriff and the metropolitan police department has handled this event is unprecedented. the paramedics who came on the scene in basically what was a war zone who treated all those men, women and kids.

the health care brocprofessionat the hospitals, the doctors who came from all over the valley to do whatever they could. and now, you know, we don't understand what happened, but i'm sure we'll find out a little more from when metro continues to do its investigation. i know for everybody watching and, you know, i want to thank the president of the united states, the other governors that have reached out to me to offer their help and assistance. we need blood. so if anybody can contribute blood, anybody in the las vegas area or locally who can do that. but as we move on, we'll learn more. we're going to need this help, and, you know, this is obviously an unprecedented event in our nation's history. we're going to have to learn from this. we're going to have to fight through this. we have to stop and pray for the

families and for the victims. we have to rely on our faith in a time like this to get us through all of it. you know, i'm -- i couldn't be prouder of the way that nevadans have responded to this, and what they have done. doctors and nurses and everyone else who has worked through the night to save lives. and they have told me they have saved lives that if not for their organization and their professionalism and their training, so again, sheriff, thank you for the courage that you have shown, to the people that were at the concert, you see courage and compassion there. people helping total strangers, risking their own lives to help people. that really speaks highly to the character of america. so again, there is a lot to learn from all of this.

it was a cowardly, despicable act that i'm very angry about. there is not much we can do, but we can learn. so ladies and gentlemen, thank you for everybody's care and concern. i'm really proud to be with everybody who is here. the mayor, the congressman, the attorney general, the congressman, our law enforcement. this is the nevada family at its best. so god bless all of you, and god bless most importantly, the families, the victims, the mothers, the fathers, the sons, the daughters, the aunts, the uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, friends and neighbors and for everybody who is watching, please stop for a moment and pause and say a prayer for them. thank you. >> i'll take questions here just shortly. as you can see, we had the

opportunity to have some of that as delegation here today, and some are missing. i don't want them slight. they reached out to me. senator heller, and the others all reached out to me and offered their assistance. so i don't want them slighted because they are not standing behind me. additionally, i have the chief of police next to me, and this is troy tanner of the mesquite pd. he has been instrumental in the assistance of his folks toward us to help complete this investigation, and i think it's appropriate he gets recognized for their effort. and then greg castle. he is just very humble and he is the clark county fire chief and he likes to stand in the back, but where we are different in our jurisdiction as through my travels in comparison to other jurisdictions, we work very well with the fire department, and they did not hesitate to pair up with an officer and enter the

the fray. so i want to thank you for that. thank you very much. so i'm happy to answer some questions. as you know, the investigation is continuing, so please do not get too detailed on your questions because i probably will not be able to answer it at this time. yes, sir. >> is there a way of getting more information from -- >> the second location is just based off of records of ownership. we discovered that he owned another piece of property in nevada. as far as the electronic evaluation, we haven't had the opportunity to do that yet. the only thing we are immediately aware is additional firearms and ammunition. >> people were hit with

shrapnel. i wanted to follow up with you on that, and also, how did he get those weapons? sgli >> like i said, we're doing an investigation, and i don't want to give you any inaccurate information. we brought the weapons in on his own. in our briefing, we believed he was in partnership or companionship, and we have determined the female is out of the country so, he brought these weapons in on his own, but as far as method, i don't have the ability to give you an accurate picture. >> was the shooter known for any prior charges or anything? >> not at all. we have checked the federal, state and local data bases and we have no knowledge of this individual. >> what do you think -- >> no. it's still -- we still consider her a person of interest. we have been in contact with