Las Vegas Shooting

It's been one week since the horrible Mandalay Bay massacre that began just after 10 PM on Sunday, October 1. I feel the need to make a post about it since it's a current event and piece of history… as unfortunate as it was.

On Thursday, September 28, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock checked into a suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. He brought more than 30 firearms with him and thousands of rounds of ammunition. The Route 91 Harvest Festival (a country music festival) was taking place that weekend, and Paddock planned an elaborate attack on the crowd of concertgoers that had gathered to have a fun night out with some live music. Paddock used some sort of hammer to break the glass out of two of the windows in his suite, aimed his weapons, and started raining down bullets on the innocent people below. The attack lasted approximately 10 minutes, and when it was over, 58 people were dead and nearly 500 were wounded. In addition to his arsenal, Paddock had also brought power tools with him, in order to set up an elaborate security system, so that he would know when the police were closing in on his suite during the attack. He killed himself when the police breached his suite. He had even made calculations to account for elevation, wind speed, and distance to make sure his shots would do the most damage.

There was no apparent motive for the attack. Paddock left no note or manifesto to explain his actions (not that there could be any excuse or explanation that would bring comfort to those left reeling from the attack). People are left wondering why he did this. He didn't seem to be mentally ill, and he didn't have a criminal record. I think his heart was just filled with hate. He will certainly have a lot to answer for when he one day stands before God to be judged of Him.

Here is a look at where the Mandalay Bay hotel is in regards to the field were the concert was, and also the layout of the hotel suite:

Here are pictures of the poor victims, who literally had to run for their lives, or do their best to find  somewhere to hide behind, as well as pictures of police and other first responders that came to the scene:

If there is any bright spot in this horrible situation, it comes from the accounts of the people that did heroic things to save others around them—even complete strangers. Other people that heard about the shooting stood in line for hours in order to donate blood. Some people donated water and other nonperishable products for the police and other law enforcement officers that spent hours combing through the concert grounds collecting evidence. People all across the country, and even the world, donated money to the victim's relief fund, in order to help pay funeral and medical expenses for those that were killed/injured.

The evil of one madman can bring out the best in people as they do what they can to help their fellowmen. 💗