People wait in a medical staging area on Oct. 2, 2017 after a mass shooting during a music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, the United States. (Xinhua/REUTERS Photo)
by Xinhua writers Guo Shuang, Gao Shan
LAS VEGAS, the United States, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- "We heard nonstop gunfire," Florida tourist Tiffany told Xinhua on Monday after a late night mass shooting at a concert outside the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas in the U.S. state of Nevada.
Tiffany was a witness of the massacre in which at least 59 people were killed and more than 500 people injured in the deadliest shooting in U.S. history.
The gunfire that interrupted the Route 91 Harvest country music festival was initially mistaken for fireworks, and then concertgoers "realized it was apparent gunfire." "I was close to the stage, people fled in the burst of gunfire," said Tiffany. "No one knows what happened. I saw people dropping on the ground."
The shooter opened fire from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay hotel on Sunday night at approximately 10:08 p.m, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMDP). Shortly before midnight, LVMPD responded to the call, breached the hotel room and found the suspect dead.
Photos showed two broken windows in a corner of the hotel that has a broad view of the concert grounds below.
"We went down waiting for pauses in gunfire to run to another hiding spot," Tiffany said.
Guests in the Mandalay Bay hotel were evacuated under the protection of security guards and police. Some people were spotted standing nervously on the street near the hotel, wearing woven blankets or bath towels on their shoulders.
Streets throughout the area, including Las Vegas Boulevard, were shut down. Police asked people to avoid the south Strip.
Not only concertgoers fled to the hotel nearby, but also pedestrians close to the theatre. Luo Xianlin, a Chinese tourist, said that he was walking on the street two blocks away when the shooting began and he ran into Ceasar Palace Hotel with a crowd of frantic people.
"I didn't hear any sound of opening fire, but I ran with flurried people. Some stayed in the lobby. Four Chinese colleagues and I hid in a room with seven Guatemalans and two Germans for four hours," he recalled.
Usually bustling casinos nearby were nearly deserted after the shooting, as many tourists were staying in hotel or gathering in small groups to watch TV live.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of last night shooting, their families and those still fighting for their lives," Jim Murren, the Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International, which owns Mandalay Bay hotel, said in a statement early Monday.
"We are working with law enforcement and will continue to do all we can to help all of those involved," he added.
Hundreds of people queue to donate blood following the mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas, Nevad, the United States, Oct. 2, 2017. (Xinhua/REUTERS Photo)
Hundreds of people queued up outside the United Blood Service in Las Vegas to donate their blood on Monday, responding to the police's appeal.
"If you have the ability to donate blood to help the cause, please do so," said Sheriff Joseph Lombardo who stressed the need for blood donations during an early press conference Monday.
Tracy Lee, who came to the blood service center around 5:00 a.m, has spent 6-7 hours waiting in line, taking check-up and donating blood.
She said some of her friends also joined her in blood donation when they learnt that she came here to give blood.
By early Monday afternoon, about 300 people have already donated blood at the center, and more than 600 people were still waiting outside, said Eric Hill, director of the blood center.
He said that some came several hours before the center opened at 7:00 a.m. on Monday.
Las Vegas, a city used to pleasure and entertainment, has showed another face after the mass shooting.
Roads leading up to the shooting spot were blocked by the police, and the streets appeared to be desolated except for the sirens of police cars and ambulances.
"No one has seen a gambling capital like this, no one could fully understand what has happened in Las Vegas, or in the U.S.," a netizen nicknamed Rosa twitted sadly after the shooting.