Speaking at the White House, he said he would look at gun laws “as times goes by” but did not elaborate.

Police are still trying to find out why Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on an open-air concert from the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Police found 23 guns in his room and firearms and explosives at his home.

As yet, no clear reason for the killing has emerged and investigators have found no link to international terrorism. Some investigators have suggested Paddock had a history of mental illness, but this has not been confirmed.

Image copyrightREUTERS

Paddock, who appears to have killed himself before police stormed his hotel room, had no criminal record and was not known to police.

Speaking to reporters as he was about to board the presidential helicopter, Mr Trump said Paddock was “a sick man, a demented man. Lot of problems, I guess, and we’re looking into him very, very seriously”.

When asked, Mr Trump declined to call the attack domestic terrorism.

On the issue of gun control, the president said: “We’ll be talking about gun laws as time goes by.”

Mr Trump, whose position on gun control has changed over the years, gave no further detail.

Stephen Paddock, a former accountant with a big gambling habit, lived in a community of senior citizens in the small town of Mesquite, north-east of Las Vegas.

He reportedly lived with a woman called Marilou Danley, who was out of the country in Japan and did not appear to be involved in the shootings, police said.

Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said that when police officers searched the property after the attack, they found 19 “additional firearms, some explosives and several thousand rounds of ammo, along with some electronic devices we’re evaluating at this point”.

Image copyrightPADDOCK FAMILY

Officers also found ammonium nitrate in Paddock’s car – the chemical compound used in fertilisers can be used to make bombs such as that used in the 1995 Oklahoma City attack.

David Famiglietti of the New Frontier Armory told the BBC that Paddock had purchased firearms at his store in North Las Vegas in the spring of this year, meeting all state and federal requirements, including an FBI background check.

However, the shotgun and rifle Paddock bought would not have been “capable of what we’ve seen and heard in the video without modification”, Mr Famiglietti said.

The fast shooting rate audible in recordings of Sunday night’s attack indicates that Paddock may have modified his guns with legal accessories to make them fire at speeds approaching those of automatic weapons.

Despite the large cache of weapons found in the killer’s home, his brother, Eric, is struggling to accept that he acted in this way. He said he was “in shock, horrified, completely dumbfounded”.

So-called Islamic State claimed on Monday to be behind the attack, saying Paddock had converted to Islam some months ago. But the group provided no evidence for this and has made unsubstantiated claims in the past.

The IS claim of responsibility for the Las Vegas attack is very unusual in that the perpetrator’s profile does not fit that of supporters or “soldiers” that the group has claimed in the past, writes Mina al-Lami, who monitors jihadist groups for the BBC.

The FBI said it had found “no connection to an international terrorist organisation”.

How did the attack unfold?

The final shows of the three-day Route 91 country music festival were in full swing when the gunman struck.

According to police, Paddock had booked into the hotel four days earlier, on 28 September, reportedly using some of Ms Danley’s identity documents.

Aside from the 23 guns found in the two-room hotel suite, Sheriff Lombardo said there were 10 suitcases.

Thousands were enjoying a performance by top-billing singer Jason Aldean when the first of several bursts of automatic gunfire rang out, starting at 22:08 local time (05:08 GMT on Monday).

Hundreds of shots were fired over at least 10 minutes.

Concert-goers scrambled for cover, flattening themselves against the ground, rushing for the exits or helping others to escape as Paddock sprayed the site from his high vantage point.

It is thought he moved between two windows in his suite as he carried out the attack.

A specialised Swat police team later stormed the suite to find Paddock shot dead.

Minutes before, a hotel security guard was injured when Paddock fired through the door.

Accounts of heroism

The aftermath of the mass shooting has revealed several of those caught up in the mayhem did their utmost to help others.

Todd Blyleven, a former minor league baseball player, told the Washington Post that after helping his friends, he returned to help others get out of the venue.

The paper says he joined a “group of volunteers” and may have helped remove 30 or 40 people from the gunfire.

Twenty-nine-year-old Sonny Melton, of Tennessee, was fatally shot while helping his wife, Heather.

“He grabbed me and started running when I felt him get shot in the back,” she told WMV-TV in Nashville.

“I want everyone to know what a kind-hearted, loving man he was, but at this point, I can barely breathe.”

Others killed in the mass shooting include a Navy veteran who had just returned from a tour of Afghanistan, and an off-duty police officer who also coached youth football.

The post Las Vegas killer ‘sick, demented’ – Trump appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel towards an open-air music festival on Sunday evening.

Police found 23 guns in his hotel room, as well as “in excess of” 19 firearms and explosives at his Nevada home.

But as yet, no clear reason for the killing has emerged.

Investigators have found no link to international terrorism, despite a claim from so-called Islamic State. Some investigators have suggested psychological issues, but there is no confirmation of this.

What do we know of the gunman?

Stephen Paddock lived in a community of senior citizens in the small town of Mesquite, north-east of Las Vegas.

He reportedly lived with a woman called Marilou Danley who is out of the country in Japan, and does not appear to be involved, police said.

Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said when police searched the property after the attack they found 19 “additional firearms, some explosives and several thousand rounds of ammo, along with some electronic devices we’re evaluating at this point”.

Officers also found ammonium nitrate in Paddock’s car. The explosive found in his home was tannerite, the sheriff said.

There is a second house in northern Nevada which Swat teams are due to check for booby-traps before carrying out a search , Sheriff Lombardo said.

David Famiglietti of the New Frontier Armory told the BBC that Paddock had purchased firearms at his store in North Las Vegas in the spring of this year, meeting all state and federal requirements, including an FBI background check.

However, the shotgun and rifle Paddock bought would not have been “capable of what we’ve seen and heard in the video without modification,” Mr Famiglietti said.

Despite the large cache of weapons in his home, his brother, Eric, is dumbfounded that he acted this way.

Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo described the shooting as a “lone wolf” attack.

So-called Islamic State (IS) has claimed to be behind the attack, saying Paddock had converted to Islam some months ago.

But the group provided no evidence for this and has made unsubstantiated claims in the past.

FBI Special Agent Aaron Rouse told a news conference: “We have determined at this point no connection to an international terrorist organisation.”

IS’s claim of responsibility for the Las Vegas attack is very unusual in that the perpetrator’s profile does not fit that of supporters or “soldiers” that the group has claimed in the past, writes Mina al-Lami, who monitors jihadist groups for the BBC.

If true, his suicide would be deemed wholly “un-Islamic”, she adds.

Jihadist suicides involve the assailant blowing himself up in order to kill those around him.

How did the attack unfold?

The final shows of the three-day Route 91 country music festival were in full swing when the gunman struck.

According to police, Paddock had booked into the hotel four days earlier, on 28 September, reportedly using some of Ms Danley’s identity documents.

Sheriff Lombardo said there were 10 suitcases in the suite, which had two rooms.

Thousands were enjoying a performance by top-billing singer Jason Aldean when the first of several bursts of automatic gunfire rang out – hundreds of shots, witnesses say. That was late on Sunday night – 22:08 local time (05:08 GMT on Monday).

Hundreds of concert-goers scrambled for cover, flattening themselves against the ground, rushing for the exits or helping others to escape as Paddock sprayed the site from his high vantage point.

It is thought he moved between two windows in his suite as he carried out the attack.

“One man had blood all over him and that’s when I knew something was seriously wrong,” Mike Thompson from London, told the BBC.

“People were running and there was chaos.”

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

Who are the victims?

The authorities have yet to confirm the identities of any of the 58 killed.

Jordan McIldoon, 23, from British Columbia in Canada, has been identified as a victim of the attack by CBC News.

• ‘We helped three victims’
• More on the victims

A nurse, Sonny Melton, of Big Sandy, Tennessee, has been named as another victim by The Jackson Sun newspaper.

In a Facebook post, his wife, Dr Heather Gulish Melton, said she “lost my true love and knight in shining armor. I appreciate the prayers but I just need some time.”

An off-duty Las Vegas police officer was another of those who died.

What gun laws does Nevada have?

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

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

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

Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a shooting six years ago, called for political leaders in Washington to introduce tougher gun laws following the Las Vegas attack.

Her husband Mark Kelly read out a joint statement on the steps of the Capitol saying thoughts and prayers from the White House were not enough to stop the next shooting.

–

Source: BBC

The post Las Vegas shooting: Police search for gunman’s motive appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) have once again clashed over which regulatory body has the mandate to regulate food and drugs in the country.

Source: Graphic Online

The post Clash over right to register food and drugs appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.