Home FEATURES Islamic State Group Claims Responsibility For Las Vegas Mass Shooting

Islamic State Group Claims Responsibility For Las Vegas Mass Shooting

Las Vegas killing

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the shooting and massacre in Las Vegas, admitting that it shooting was carried out by one of its soldiers who had converted to Islam several months ago.

“The executor of the Las Vegas attack is a soldier of the Islamic State and he carried out the operation as a response” to calls to target countries engaged in military action against the jihadists, IS’s propaganda outlet Amaq said in online statements.

It provided no evidence to back up its claim.

A gunman had killed at least 58 people and wounded more than 400 when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas on Sunday in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

Police said the 64 year old gunman, a Nevada resident, identified as Stephen Paddock, had been killed after a SWAT team responded to reports of multiple gunfire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, a hotel-casino next to the concert venue.

Concert-goers screamed and fled in panic as a steady stream of automatic gunfire rang out at the venue shortly after 10:00 pm local time (0500 GMT Monday), footage captured on smart phones showed.

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“We are looking at in excess of 50 individuals dead and of 200 individuals injured at this point,” Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told a pre-dawn press conference on Monday in the Nevada gambling hub.

Lombardo said that police and FBI were still looking into Paddock’s background but they had “located numerous firearms within the room that he occupied” in the hotel.

Police said Paddock, who lived in a town around 80 miles northeast (130 kilometers) of Las Vegas, had opened fire on the crowds below from the upper reaches of the giant hotel located on the famous Las Vegas Strip.

Paddock’s female companion, who had earlier been named as a person of interest by police, is believed to have been located, Lombardo added.

Source: AP. [myad]