It's only Tuesday, and it's already been a long week, especially for Jason Aldean, who was headlining the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas Sunday night when a man opened fire on 22,000 concertgoers.
Here's what we know: The gunman, 64-year-old local resident Stephen Paddock, rained gunfire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino toward the crowd, leaving at least 59 dead and over 527 injured. Paddock was later found dead by officers inside his hotel room.
Heaps of new information on the the attack, the weapons found, the investigation and the murderer has been dug up since the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history shook the entire nation. Read Aldean's message and five more developments below.
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View StoryJason Aldean's Plea for Unity
The country singer took to Instagram early Monday morning to let everyone know he and his crew were OK. Later that night, Aldean shared a lengthier message detailing the emotions that have gone through his head since the shooting, including fears about how the world is changing.
"This world is becoming the kind of place I am afraid to raise my children in," he wrote. "At the end of the day we aren't Democrats or Republicans, whites or blacks, men or women. We are all humans and we are all Americans and its time to start acting like it and stand together as ONE!"
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Details of the Attack
- According to CNN, Paddock opened fire at around 10:08 p.m. local time.
- An eye witness said that the "gunshots lasted for 10 to 15 minutes."
- Paddock was staying in a suite on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay. His room number was 32135.
- The site of the country music festival was located across Las Vegas Boulevard. Paddock opened fire from his window, several hundred feet southwest of the site.
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View StoryThe Weapons Found
- A total of 23 weapons were found in Paddock's hotel room, including a .223-caliber and a .308-caliber.
- Authorities suspect "at least one of the rifles used was altered in order to function as an automatic weapon."
- Clark Country Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said investigators found several pounds of ammonium nitrate (a material used to make explosives) in Paddock's car.
- When authorities searched Paddock's home in Mesquite on Monday, they discovered "at least 19 more firearms, explosives, several thousand pounds of ammunition and some electronic devices."
The Investigation
- Paddock was alive when police officers first made contact with him. They backed off when Paddock began shooting, so they waited for the SWAT team to arrive.
- At this time, the FBI believes Paddock had no accomplices.
- The shooting, although certainly terrifying, has not been determined to be an act of terrorism. Lombardo said: "We have to establish what his motivation was first."
- Paddock checked into Mandalay Bay on Thursday, Sept. 28.
- According to Lombardo, "Employees had been in his room prior to the shooting and did not notice anything amiss."
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View StoryThe Murderer
- Paddock was a Nevada native from the city of Mesquite.
- He lived with his girlfriend, Marilou Danley, who was out of the country at the time of the attack. Police do not believe she had knowledge of or involvement in the shooting.
- Paddock was a real estate investor and retired accountant who owned apartments and houses, several in the Reno area.
- He was twice-divorced and had no known children.
- According to the FBI, Paddock's father was a convicted robber who held a spot on the FBI's Most Wanted list from June 1969 until May 1977.
- Paddock's brother, Eric, said Stephen never showed signs of violence and "had no affiliations with any terror or hate group."
The Aftermath
- This Las Vegas shooting has become the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history. The 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, was the previous deadliest, with 49 victims shot and killed.
- At this time, the Department of Homeland Security said that there is no threat to other public venues but that security measures could increase.
- President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet the families of the victims and address the shooting on site.