Words Ime Ekpo
Another mass shooting has struck the United States and this time it took place on the Las Vegas strip. On Sunday, Around 10:08 p.m. booming gunfire struck at country music festival, Route 91 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
There are at least 59 people dead, and more than 500 hospitalized with an expectation of a rising death toll.
The shooter has been identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, a resident of Mesquite, Nevada. Paddock launched fire from his 32nd floor hotel room window, where he had been staying since September 28th. Paddock was found dead amidst officers performing a breach of his hotel room.
According to Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, after serving a search warrant on Paddock’s home, authorities found a minimum of 19 firearms, explosives, a couple thousand rounds of ammunition and several electronic equipment. Also, an abundance of ammonium nitrate, which is a material used to make explosives was found in Paddock’s car.
The Las Vegas mass shooting is now the deadliest shooting that has occurred in modern American history. This fresh tragedy has brought the topic of gun control back to the forefront, triggering fear and overall sadness across the nation.
President Trump conducted a moment of silence for the tragedy at the White House yesterday and plans on taking a trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet with the victims families.
Hip-Hop notables in the likes of Russell Simmons, Flavor Flav, and Snoop Dogg expressed their awareness and concern for this tragedy on social media, asking for nation bound prayers and placing the spotlight on gun control, which is a sanctioned challenge with right wing conservatives.
Thank you to Jonathan Smith + all the courageous heroes who saved lives last night during the terrorist attack on the Las Vegas Strip. https://t.co/2X95YhzDDT
— COMMON (@common) October 3, 2017
#that shooter here in Las Vegas was a fucking coward we need better gun control laws people with mental illnesses are purchasing guns
FLAV— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) October 2, 2017