LAS VEGAS – Local 4 News has full coverage of the mass shooting that left dozens dead and hundreds injured at a country music concert in Las Vegas.
Our coverage includes an update on the investigation from Las Vegas police, stories from Metro Detroit residents who were in Las Vegas and updates on how the shooting could change lives throughout the U.S.
At least 59 killed, more than 500 hurt in shooting
At least 59 people were killed and more than 500 were injured Monday in what's become the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Police said Stephen Paddock, 64, was the lone gunman who opened fire from the window of his hotel room on the 32rd floor of the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. His target was a packed country music concert below.
Panic and chaos took over the Las Vegas strip as Paddock opened fire and hundreds of rounds rained down from the 32 floor of the hotel.
"Everyone dropped, and everyone just got up, and everyone said, 'Run,'" a witness said. "Everyone started charging and stampeding."
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Las Vegas authorities provide update on deadly shooting
"There are two things we're attempting to achieve," said Las Vegas Police Chief Joe Lombardo. "One is we have to finish processing the scenes. We have four separate scenes we're working now. We have, on the 32nd floor, the room at the Mandalay Bay. We have the event location, the house in Mesquite and then now we have SWAT standing by, getting ready to hit the house in northern Nevada."
Lombardo said police retrieved in excess of 18 additional firearms from Paddock's home in Mesquite, along with some explosives and several thousand rounds of ammunition. There were also some electronic devices that police are evaluating.
There are currently 527 people injured and 59 people who were killed in the attack, Lombardo said.
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Metro Detroit residents share their stories
Metro Detroit residents who were in Las Vegas during the mass shooting, including one person who was at the Jason Aldean concert as shots were fired, shared their stories with Local 4.
Angel Hobson, from Detroit, went to Vegas to celebrate her 21st birthday. She said she's in shock.
"We actually saw people running, so we were just, like, 'Oh my goodness, what's happening?'" Hobson said. "We thought it was just, like, 'Oh, Vegas. Crazy things happen.' But as we got on the plane, they were, like, 'No, we have to hold the plane back. We have to get off the plane.'"
Dan Lock, of Commerce Township, was 20 yards away from the stage when the shooting started. He said he thought he was hearing firecrackers at first, but then he heard screams and saw people falling to the ground around him.
"It sounded like, you know, maybe 10 or 12 firecrackers," Lock said. "But it just didn't stop, and when it didn't stop, that's when we saw Jason Aldean get ushered off the stage and people started hitting the ground."
Joel Fresque, of Ontario, went to Las Vegas to celebrate his 40th birthday. It was his first trip to Vegas.
"I'm glad I made it back, because, you know, 50, what, 60 people didn't make it back," Fresque said.
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Metro Detroit couple survived concert
One Metro Detroit couple was just 20 feet away from the stage when shots started raining down on the country music concert. They said the scene was surreal, and the first thing they thought was "I have to get out of here and survive for my children."
"It sounded like firecrackers," Lock said. "'Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.' But it was just constant. It kept going and going. At that point, once we saw Jason Aldean get removed from the stage, security came to get him back, people were starting to yell, 'Get down. Get down.' We kept hearing gunfire the whole time. We couldn't tell if it was elevated. We couldn't tell if they were in the concert venue."
They stayed on the ground as the shots continued. There were no exits near them, so they crawled toward a chain-link fence.
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Detroit police chief: More must be done to prevent mass shootings
Detroit police Chief James Craig said much more needs to be done to prevent mass shootings.
"First, we have to understand, how does this person get into the hotel?" Craig asked. "Of course he didn't walk in with the weapons exposed, but if someone was coming in with large-sized cases, might that not draw some attention?"
Craig said the shooting in Vegas has already taught the country an important lesson.
"One of the things we're going to make sure we enhance is make sure, in addition to our other security partners, we are also working closely with hotel security," Craig said.
He's going after the National Football League for what he called a "bad policy" that forbids any off-duty law enforcement officials from bringing weapons into stadiums.
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Las Vegas shooting brings up issue of automatic weapons
It didn't take long for politics to come into play with the tragedy unfolding -- Specifically, the issue of automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines capable of firing hundreds of rounds before reloading.
Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy tweeted, "To my colleagues: Your cowardice to act cannot be whitewashed by thoughts and prayers. None of this ends unless we do something to stop it."
Paddock apparently used an AR-15. Semi-automatic weapons, which are legal, fire a single bullet when the trigger is pulled. Automatic weapons, which aren't legal, empty the magazine when the trigger is held down.
The weapon used in Las Vegas was something in between that nobody saw coming. The shots were fired from a semi-automatic gun with a trigger crank, which is a fishing reel-type device attached to the trigger.
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Former Detroit deputy chief breaks down police response
Former Detroit Deputy Police Chief Steve Dolunt visited the Local 4 newsroom Monday to give some insight into the mass shooting.
"I have to give Las Vegas a lot of credit," Dolunt said. "That's a tough scene, because you've got all the victims down there, and you have to go past the victims to enter the hotel, which is hard because you can't render aid. You have to go stop the shooter and neutralize it. Very tough. Extremely tough."
Dolunt talked about his first reflections when he found out how many people had been shot and how armed Paddock was.
"I was stunned that one individual could do this," Dolunt said. "Stunned, but actually not shocked because in Detroit we prepare for it quite a bit. There are scenarios in Detroit where we thought there was more than one shooter, and in this case, that's what you have to concern yourself with. There could be more than one shooter, and you're going in, and there could be a secondary -- whether it's an explosion -- to take out the public safety officials. It's a scary thing."
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Henry Ford staff demonstrates how hospitals prepare for mass shootings
Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit is a level one hospital, so the reality is they have to be ready for extreme situations. Staff members said they do drills to make sure they're ready, and they've done around 20 over the last few years.
"We conduct a number of exercises every year," said John Snider, the emergency preparedness coordinator at Henry Ford.
Snider said they created a fluid plan for emergencies.
"At Henry Ford, our first thing will be to get the most information we can," Snider said. "(Then) we'll begin forming teams of nurses, scrub techs, surgeons and anesthesiologists, so before we get any patients at all, we already have those teams in place."
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Major new security concern for police fighting mass shootings
The mass shooting has opened a whole new security concern across the United States, especially in cities with high rises surrounding public parks.
It's a new, disturbing reality for law enforcement officers that has experts are rethinking how to respond to active shooters.
"Where do you set security up here?" Arena asked. "How do you police all these tall buildings, all the streets coming together? It is a nightmare for law enforcement."
The Vegas scenario of a gunman shooting down on victims from a high-rise puts police in a very difficult situation.
"You're going to have to deal with mass casualties, but you don't want more casualties, and you're going to be looking around, trying to figure out where the threat is," Arena said.
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How will shooting impact future of hotel security?
The deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas has raised questions about the hotel industry and changes it might have to make in security.
"The big hotels usually put up signs that say weapons are not allowed on the premises," said University of Detroit criminology professor and former Detroit Police Department Chief Charles Wilson.
But signs aren't enforcement, and Wilson said it's not out of the question that hotel entrances need to be treated like a TSA stop at the airport.
"I think you'll start possibly, just like going to an airport, they'll have magnetometers," Wilson said. "You could have other types of security sweeps on the application of technology to try to identify someone who was smuggling in weapons."
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New way to alert loved ones you're safe during mass shootings
Amid the chaos in Las Vegas, thousands of people rushed to safety, leaving loved ones to wonder if they made it out OK.
There's a quick and effective way to let friends and family members know if you are safe when a major incident takes place, and it's through Facebook.
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Beware of scammers creating fake fundraisers for victims
It's a sad reminder every time there's a tragedy in the United States, but scammers are trying to fool people into making a donation.
It seems as if it should be easy, but when you go looking for sites to donate to the victims, they can look very similar. We had some trouble deciphering which one was the right site to donate for Las Vegas victims, and it tripped up one Metro Detroit woman who fell for the trap.
Click here to visit the real GoFundMe page for Las Vegas shooting victims.
Donations for victims of the Las Vegas shooting are pouring in as millions of dollars come from people all over the country who have watched the horror and desperately want to help.