2017 Las Vegas shooting — mass shooting in the Las Vegas area of Nevada, USA on October 1, 2017
The deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in U.S. history, killing 60 people and spurring national debate over bump stock regulations.
Key Facts
- Deaths
- 60 people
- Wounded (direct gunfire)
- at least 413 people
- Total injured (incl. panic)
- approximately 867 people
- Rounds fired
- more than 1,000 rounds
- Shooter's floor
- 32nd floor, Mandalay Bay hotel
- Bump stock ban overturned
- Supreme Court, 2024
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man, positioned himself in 32nd-floor suites at the Mandalay Bay hotel overlooking the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. He equipped himself with weapons fitted with bump stocks, devices that enable semi-automatic rifles to fire at rates comparable to automatic firearms. His motive has never been officially determined.
On October 1, 2017, Paddock opened fire on the festival crowd, discharging more than 1,000 rounds. The attack killed 60 people and directly wounded at least 413. Panic among the approximately 22,000 attendees brought total injuries to around 867. Paddock was found dead in his hotel room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound roughly an hour after the shooting began.
The attack became the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in American history and intensified debate over U.S. firearms laws. It led directly to a federal bump stock ban enacted by the Justice Department in December 2018, though the Supreme Court overturned that ban in 2024. The event also prompted reviews of security protocols at large outdoor public venues.