Las Vegas: At least 20 people were killed and over 100 others injured when a "lone attacker" opened fire at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday, police said.
Police described the suspect as being a local Las Vegas man who acted alone, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said at a briefing. But authorities were seeking an Asian female who police described as a companion of the suspect, he said.
They said that rumours of other shootings in the area were false, according to Reuters.
Witnesses on social media said the shooting broke out on the last night of the three-day Route 91 Harvest festival, a sold-out event attended by thousands and featuring top acts such as Eric Church, Sam Hunt and Jason Aldean.
The spokeswoman for the University Medical Center hospital said 14 of the wounded were in a critical condition. All had suffered gunshot wounds, she said.
The gunman, who police said was a local resident, was killed after being "engaged" by officers who responded to report of multiple gunfire coming from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, a hotel-casino next to the concert venue, according to AFP.
Revelers screamed and fled in panic as a steady stream of automatic gunfire rang out at the venue shortly after 10:00pm local time, footage captured on smart phones showed.
"We have in excess of 100-plus injured and excess of 20-plus that have died at this point," Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told an early morning press conference.
"This is an ongoing investigation, but we are comfortable that the primary aggressor in this event is -- has expired or passed away, and is no longer a threat."
Thousands of fans were attending the concert next to the Mandalay Bay which was part of a three-day country music festival known as Route 91.
Witnesses told how the gunman opened fire with an inital burst and then appeared to reload as he continued his spree.
"We heard (what) sounded like a glass breaking, so you looked around to see what's going on and then heard a pop, pop, pop," Monique Dekerf told CNN.
"You'd think for a moment okay we're fine, there's no more gunfire, then it starts again."
Her sister Rachel said it sounded like "the shots were coming from the right side ... it sounded like they were right beside us too ... it was right there."
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